nLab
epic sink

Given an object X in some category, a family (f i:U iX) i of morphisms to X is an epic sink, or a jointly epic family if, given any two morphisms g,h:XY such that f i;g=f i;h for all i, it follows that g=h.

Dually, a family (f i:XU i) i of morphisms from X is a monic source, or a jointly monic family if, given any two morphisms g,h:YX such that f ig=f ih for all i, it follows that g=h.

Sometimes we are interested only in small families of morphisms, but if so then it is best to say so explicitly.

A single morphism UX is an epimorphism if and only it forms an epic sink by itself; conversely, a sink (f i:U iX) i is epic iff the induced map iU iX is an epimorphism, assuming that the coproduct iU i exists. (Note, though, that for a large family of morphisms, this coproduct might not exist even if the category has all small coproducts.) Dual results hold for monomorphisms and products.

Finally, the empty family of morphisms with domain X is a monic source iff X is a subterminal object (and dually).