I was accused of using a fountain pen the other day (guilty as charged). Does anyone know why it is called so? The mess of ink I get on the page, the table, my person, etc when refilling it is certainly voluminous but can scarcely be described as a fountain.
Learn English – Why is a “fountain pen” so called
etymologyword-usage
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Best Answer
The earliest meaning for fountain shown by the OED is:
and a later meaning is "reservoir". When fountain pens began to be used, most pens were a quill only and had to be dipped into an inkwell every few words in order to replenish the ink. Hence, the new style of pen was called a fountain pen since it included a reservoir.