The meaning of PROVENANCE is origin, source. How to use provenance in a sentence.

Provenance covers an object's complete documented history. An artifact may thus have both a provenience and a provenance.

Definition of provenance noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Typically, art dealers maintain a provenance, or detailed written documentation of a piece's history and sales.

prov•e•nance (ˈprɒv ə nəns, -ˌnɑns) n. place or source of origin: a manuscript of unknown provenance.

There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun provenance, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Nov 21, 2025 · (computing) The copy history of a piece of data, or the intermediate pieces of data used to compute a final data element, as in a database record or web site (data provenance).

PROVENANCE definition: place or source of origin. See examples of provenance used in a sentence.

Where something comes from is its provenance. If a style of music originated in the capital of Rhode Island, you could say that its provenance was Providence.

The saying has its provenance in [=comes from] Greek myth. The artifact is of unknown provenance.