Crossword Genius

Origin of river's rising (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

seed

'origin' is the definition.
(seed is a kind of origin)

'river's rising' is the wordplay.
'river's' becomes 'dee's' (River Dee).
'rising' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'dees' backwards is 'SEED'.

'of' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for seed that I've seen before include "It can develop into a plant" , "An outstanding player in a tournament" , "- Pearl; - capital" , "Pip for sowing" , "Pip; origin, beginning" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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