1. 
[syn: birthplace, cradle, place of origin, provenance, provenience]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Provenance \Prov"e*nance\, n. [F., fr. provenir to originate, to
   come forth, L. provenire. Cf. Provenience.]
   Origin; source; provenience.
         Their age attested by their provenance and
         associations.                            --A. H. Keane.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
provenance
    n 1: where something originated or was nurtured in its early
         existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn:
         birthplace, cradle, place of origin, provenance,
         provenience]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
24 Moby Thesaurus words for "provenance":
   beginning, commencement, conception, derivation, fountain, genesis,
   grass roots, head, inception, origin, original, origination,
   provenience, radical, radix, rise, root, source, stem, stock,
   taproot, well, wellspring, whence