the.com/mineral spring

means A natural spring whose water has picked up dissolved minerals (sulfur, salts, lime, iron) on its underground journey, often prized for a distinctive taste or supposed health benefits.

from 'Mineral' traces back to medieval Latin 'minera,' meaning 'ore' or 'mine' — the stuff dug from the earth. 'Spring' comes from Old English 'springan,' to leap or burst forth, the same root that gives us a coiled spring or a spring in your step. Put together, the phrase is literally 'water that leapt up carrying mine-stuff with it' — a plain description that people later dressed up into spa towns, bottled brands, and claims of healing waters, long after the water itself just did what groundwater does: pick up whatever it passes through.