Etymologically
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original

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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
  • 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)