original

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /əˈrɪdʒ.ən.əl/, US /əˈrɪdʒ.ɪ.nəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English original, borrowed from Old French original (“first”),^[2][3] and directly from Latin orīginālis,^[2][4][5] from orīgō (“beginning, source, birth”), from orior (“to rise”),^[2][6] the source of origin.^[2][6][5] The noun is partly from Medieval Latin orīginale.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In original sin, the corruption of human nature held to be inherited from Adam: about 1315,^[8] or the early 14th century, first in the word order synne original.^[2]

Semantic evolution

“Pertaining to the first stage of anything” is from 1390,^[8] or the late 14th century,^[2] and the source from which something is derived, as a noun, from the late 14th century.^[2] An original writ in law is from 1334.^[8] The thing from which a copy is made is from 1631 as an adjective^[8] and 1624 as a noun.^[9] “Produced directly by an author or artist” is from the 1630s,^[2] “fresh, novel” by 1756^[9] or 1782,^[2] and “inventive, creative” from 1803.^[9] An eccentric person, an original, is from 1675.^[9] Of recordings and films it is from 1918.^[2][9]

Timeline

• c. 1315 – original sin.^[8]
• 1334 – original writ.^[8]
• 1390 – belonging to the beginning.^[8]
• 1624 – noun, the thing copied.^[9]
• 1630s – made by the author or artist.^[2]
• 1675 – noun, an eccentric person.^[9]
• 1756 – new, fresh.^[9]
• 1803 – inventive.^[9]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Preceding all others in time; first.
2. Not derived from something else; fresh and unusual.
3. Producing new things or ideas; inventive.
4. Being the source from which a copy or translation is made.

Noun

1. The first form, from which others are developed or copied.
2. An authentic work of art; a work composed firsthand.
3. An appealingly odd person; a character.

Word family

• nonoriginal
• originalism
• unoriginal
• originally
• original sin
• book of original entry

Related words

• origin
• originality
• originate
• originative
• aboriginal
• orient
• abort

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)