Fonds

How it is used

The final s appears in the singular too: a fonds; creator-based unity differs from a subject collection.

Example sentences

1. The family's fonds contains business papers alongside personal correspondence.

   A common creator unites records with different subjects.

2. The archive kept the firm's fonds separate from donated papers about the industry.

   Origin distinguishes an organic body from a thematic collection.

Common collocations

• a family fonds
• describe a fonds

Related terms

• archiveA collection of historical records kept for long-term use, or the building or institution where such records are stored and made available to researchers.
• provenanceThe origin of a document or object and the record of who has owned or kept it since it was made, used to judge whether it is genuine and lawfully held.

More terms: Sources and Archives

• primary source
• secondary source
• manuscript
• bias
• census
• chronicle
• source criticism
• oral history
• inscription
• archivist
• palaeography
• diplomatics