point of origin

This is a **compositional phrase**, not a term of art. In privacy and data-governance contexts it functions as plain descriptive language meaning the location, system, process, or entity from which a data element was first collected or generated — equivalent to "source" or "provenance." It appears in enumerated lists of data-inventory attributes (such as type, classification, owner, custodian, and source) without carrying a specialized meaning beyond the ordinary sense of its two words. No standards body (NIST, ISO, AICPA, CIS, or a named regulator) has assigned it a formal definition distinguishing it from everyday usage.