Origin of the word origins

: rise, beginning, or derivation from a source

the origin of life on Earth

The word «algebra» is of Arabic origin.

: the point at which something begins or rises or from which it derives

also

: something that creates, causes, or gives rise to another

a spring is the origin of the brook

: the more fixed, central, or larger attachment of a muscle

: the intersection of coordinate axes

Synonyms

Choose the Right Synonym for origin

origin, source, inception, root mean the point at which something begins its course or existence.

origin applies to the things or persons from which something is ultimately derived and often to the causes operating before the thing itself comes into being.

an investigation into the origin of baseball

source applies more often to the point where something springs into being.

the source of recurrent trouble

inception stresses the beginning of something without implying causes.

the business has been a success since its inception

root suggests a first, ultimate, or fundamental source often not easily discerned.

the real root of the violence

Example Sentences

Her ethnic origins are French.

the origins of human language remain a matter of considerable debate

Recent Examples on the Web

That origin story centers largely on his mother, played forcefully by Viola Davis.

—Meg Jacobs, CNN, 11 Apr. 2023

That high praise came a week after the couple walked the red carpet for the premiere of the dramatic origin story of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, Air, which Affleck stars in and also directed.

—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Apr. 2023

The prequel will center around younger versions of Jim Hopper and Joyce Maldonado (characters played by David Harbour and Winona Ryder on the show), and delve further into the origin story of Henry Creel, a.k.a.

—Nick Romano, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2023

But the new film operates less as a tribute to consumerism than as an origin story of one exceptional athlete — and the leather-and-rubber vessel that has become synonymous with his legacy.

—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 6 Apr. 2023

While this movie thankfully skips the origin story, it’s still filled with familiar Peter Parker troubles, namely balancing heroism and high school.

—Good Housekeeping, 6 Apr. 2023

The movie, which serves as the origin story of X’s killer Pearl (also played by Goth), was released later that year, receiving rave reviews yet again.

—Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2023

Set four years before the events of the original Grease, Rise of the Pink Ladies serves as an origin story for the cool-girl clique that gives the show its title.

—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2023

Oakes decided their origin story was worth investigating.

—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023

See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘origin.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English origine, from Latin origin-, origo, from oriri to rise — more at orient entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of origin was
in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near origin

Cite this Entry

“Origin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/origin. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on origin

Last Updated:
14 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Источник

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English origine, origyne, from Old French origine, orine, ourine, from Latin origo (“beginning, source, birth, origin”), from orior (“to rise”); see orient. Doublet of origo.

Pronunciation[edit]

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒɹ.ɪ.d͡ʒɪn/, /ˈɒɹ.ə.d͡ʒən/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹ.ɪ.d͡ʒɪn/, /ˈɔɹ.d͡ʒɪn/
(NYC) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹ.ɪ.d͡ʒɪn/

Noun[edit]

origin (plural origins)

The beginning of something.
The source of a river, information, goods, etc.
- 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lecture I:
  
  It is clear that the origin of the truth would be an admirable criterion of this sort, if only the various origins could be discriminated from one another from this point of view, and the history of dogmatic opinion shows that origin has always been a favorite test. Origin in immediate intuition; origin in pontifical authority; origin in supernatural revelation, as by vision, hearing, or unaccountable impression; origin in direct possession by a higher spirit, expressing itself in prophecy and warning; origin in automatic utterance generally,—these origins have been stock warrants for the truth of one opinion after another which we find represented in religious history.
- 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
  
  Swearing doesn’t just mean what we now understand by «dirty words». It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – «profanity», «curses», «oaths» and «swearing» itself.
Synonym: source
(mathematics) The point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect.

Synonym: zero vector
(anatomy) The proximal end of attachment of a muscle to a bone that will not be moved by the action of that muscle.
(cartography) An arbitrary point on Earth’s surface, chosen as the zero for a system of coordinates.
(in the plural) Ancestry.

Synonyms[edit]

(beginning): See Thesaurus:beginning

Antonyms[edit]

(beginning): end
(source): destination
(anatomy): insertion

Derived terms[edit]

cross-origin
origin story
original
originate
origination
originator

[edit]

orient

Translations[edit]

beginning of something

Afrikaans: oorsprong (af)
Albanian: zanafillë (sq)
Arabic: مَنْشَأ‎ m (manšaʔ)

Egyptian Arabic: منشأ‎ m (manšaʾ)

Hijazi Arabic: مَنْشَأ‎ m (manšaʾ), مَصْدَر‎ m (maṣdar)
Aragonese: orichen m
Asturian: orixe
Belarusian: крыні́ца f (kryníca), жарало́ n (žaraló), пача́так m (pačátak), пахо́джанне n (paxódžannje)
Bulgarian: нача́ло (bg) n (načálo), прои́зход (bg) m (proízhod)
Catalan: origen (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 起源 (zh) (qǐyuán), 源頭／源头 (zh) (yuántóu), 起始 (zh) (qǐshǐ), 本源 (zh) (běnyuán)

Min Dong: 起源 (kī nguòng)
Czech: vznik (cs) m, počátek (cs) m
Danish: herkomst c, oprindelse c
Dutch: oorsprong (nl) m, herkomst (nl) f
Esperanto: origino (eo)
Finnish: alkuperä (fi)
French: origine (fr) f
Galician: orixe (gl) f
Georgian: საწყისი (sac̣q̇isi)
German: Ursprung (de) m, Anfang (de) m, Entstehung (de) f
Greek: αρχή (el) f (archí), προέλευση (el) f (proélefsi)

Ancient: ἀρχή f (arkhḗ)
Guaraní: ypy
Haitian Creole: orijin
Hebrew: מוֹצָא‎ (he) m (motzá), מָקוֹר‎ (he) m (makór)
Higaonon: poonan
Hindi: शुरुआत (hi) f (śuruāt)
Hungarian: eredet (hu), kezdet (hu), kezdőpont (hu), kiindulópont (hu)
Indonesian: asal usul (id)
Irish: foinse f, máthair (ga) f, bunús m
Italian: origine (it)
Japanese: 起源 (ja) (きげん, kigen), 原因 (ja) (げんいん, gen’in), 原初 (ja) (げんしょ, gensho)
Javanese: asal
Khmer: កំណើត (km) (kɑmnaət)
Kilivila: uula
Korean: 기원(起源) (ko) (giwon), 원인(原因) (ko) (wonin)
Lao: ກຳເນີດ (lo) (kam nœ̄t)
Latin: orīgō (la) f, principium (la) n, prīmordium f
Latvian: cilme f
Lithuanian: kilmė (lt) f
Macedonian: потекло n (poteklo), почеток m (početok)
Malay: asal
Malayalam: ഉത്ഭവം (ml) (utbhavaṃ)
Mongolian:

Cyrillic: гарал (mn) (garal)
Norwegian:

Bokmål: opphav (no) n, opprinnelse m, utgangspunkt n, utspring n

Nynorsk: opphav n, utgangspunkt n, utspring n
Plautdietsch: Aunfank m, Häakunft f
Polish: pochodzenie (pl) n, początek (pl) m
Portuguese: origem (pt) f, começo (pt) m
Romagnol: radìșa f (figurative), ràdga f (figurative)
Romanian: origine (ro) f, origină (ro) f
Russian: нача́ло (ru) n (načálo), исто́чник (ru) m (istóčnik), происхожде́ние (ru) n (proisxoždénije)
Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic: поче́так m

Roman: počétak (sh) m
Sicilian: uriggina (scn) f, urìggina (scn)
Slovak: začiatok (sk) m, vznik (sk) m
Slovene: poreklo n, začetek (sl) m
Sorbian:

Lower Sorbian: póchad m
Spanish: origen (es) m
Swedish: ursprung (sv) n, upprinnelse (sv) c
Tagalog: mulâ, simulâ, pasimulâ, umpisá
Tausug: pun
Thai: กำเนิด (th) (gam-nə̀ət)
Turkish: köken (tr), başlangıç (tr), kaynak (tr), orijin (tr)
Ukrainian: джерело́ (uk) n (džereló), крини́ця (uk) f (krynýcja), поча́ток (uk) m (počátok), похо́дження n (poxódžennja)
Venetian: orixene
Vietnamese: nguồn gốc (vi)
Volapük: rig (vo)
Yakut: төрүт (törüt)
Zulu: umsuka class 3/4

source of a river, information, goods, etc.

Arabic: مَنْبَع‎ m (manbaʕ), مَنْشَأ‎ m (manšaʔ), مَصْدَر‎ (ar) m (maṣdar)

Egyptian Arabic: منبع‎ m (manbaʿ), منشأ‎ m (manšaʾ), مصدر‎ m (maṣdar)

Hijazi Arabic: مَصْدَر‎ m (maṣdar), مَنْبَع‎ m (manbaʿ)
Bengali: উৎপত্তিস্থল (utpottisthol)
Bulgarian: и́звор (bg) m (ízvor), и́зточник (bg) m (íztočnik)
Catalan: origen (ca) m
Chinese:

Mandarin: 源頭／源头 (zh) (yuántóu), 水源 (zh) (shuǐyuán)
Czech: počátek (cs) m, pramen (cs) m
Dutch: oorsprong (nl) m
Esperanto: fonto (eo)
Finnish: lähteet pl (of a river), alkuperä (fi) (of information etc.)
French: source (fr) f
Georgian: წყარო (c̣q̇aro)
German: Quelle (de) f
Greek: πηγή (el) f (pigí)
Haitian Creole: sous
Hebrew: מָקוֹר‎ (he) m (makór)
Hungarian: (of a river, information) forrás (hu), (of goods etc) származás (hu)
Indonesian: asal (id), sumber (id)
Irish: foinse f
Malayalam: ഉത്ഭവം (ml) (utbhavaṃ), ഉറവിടം (ml) (uṟaviṭaṃ)
Maori: takenga
Norwegian:

Bokmål: utspring n (river)

Nynorsk: utspring n (river)
Portuguese: origem (pt) f, (de um rio) nascente (pt) f
Russian: нача́ло (ru) n (načálo), исто́чник (ru) m (istóčnik), исто́к (ru) m (istók) (origin of a river)
Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic: ѝзвор m, вре̏ло n, ѝзворӣште n

Roman: ìzvor (sh) m, vrȅlo (sh) n, ìzvorīšte (sh) n
Slovene: izvor (sl) m
Spanish: origen (es) m
Swedish: källa (sv) c, ursprung (sv) n
Tagalog: kasimulan
Turkish: kaynak (tr)
Zulu: umdabu class 3, indabuko class 9/10

point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect

Bulgarian: нача́ло (bg) n (načálo)
Chinese:

Mandarin: 原點／原点 (zh) (yuándiǎn)
Czech: počátek (cs) m
Danish: origo
Dutch: oorsprong (nl) m
Finnish: origo (fi), nollapiste (fi)
French: origine (fr) f
German: Ursprung (de) m
Hebrew: רֵאשִׁית‎ (he) f (reshít)
Hungarian: origó (hu)
Indonesian: origo
Irish: bunphointe m
Japanese: 原点 (ja) (げんてん, genten)
Norwegian: origo
Portuguese: origem (pt) f
Russian: нача́ло координа́т n (načálo koordinát)
Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic: ѝсходӣште n

Roman: ìshodīšte (sh) n
Swedish: origo (sv) n
Tagalog: mulaan
Turkish: orijin (tr)

ancestry

Albanian: zanafillë (sq)
Arabic: اَصْل‎ m (aṣl)

Hijazi Arabic: أصِل‎ m (aṣil)
Armenian: ծագում (hy) (cagum)
Belarusian: пахо́джанне n (paxódžannje), пахаджэ́нне n (paxadžénnje)
Bulgarian: прои́зход (bg) m (proízhod)
Chinese:

Mandarin: 起源 (zh) (qǐyuán), 來源／来源 (zh) (láiyuán)
Czech: původ (cs) m
Dutch: oorsprong (nl) m, afkomst (nl) f, herkomst (nl) f
Finnish: syntyperä (fi)
French: origine (fr) f
Georgian: წარმომავლობა (c̣armomavloba)
German: Herkunft (de) f
Greek: καταγωγή (el) f (katagogí)
Hebrew: מוֹצָא‎ (he) m (motzá)
Hungarian: származás (hu)
Indonesian: asal (id)
Irish: bunús m
Italian: origini (it) f pl
Macedonian: потекло n (poteklo)
Mongolian: гарал (mn) (garal)
Polish: pochodzenie (pl)
Portuguese: origem (pt) f
Russian: происхожде́ние (ru) n (proisxoždénije)
Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic: подрије́тло n, порије́кло n

Roman: podrijétlo (sh) n, porijéklo (sh) n
Slovak: pôvod (sk) m
Slovene: poreklo n, izvir (sl) m
Sorbian:

Lower Sorbian: póchad m
Spanish: origen (es) m
Swedish: ursprung (sv) n, härkomst (sv) c
Turkish: soy sop (tr)
Ukrainian: похо́дження n (poxódžennja)

Translations to be checked

Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أَصْل‎ m (ʔaṣl)
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} oorsprong (nl) m
French: ^{(please verify)} origine (fr) f
German: ^{(please verify)} Ursprung (de) m
Ido: ^{(please verify)} origino (io)
Italian: ^{(please verify)} origine (it) f
Korean: ^{(please verify)} 원천 (ko) (woncheon), ^{(please verify)} 근원 (ko) (geunwon)
Old English: ^{(please verify)} frymþu f
Serbo-Croatian:

Roman: ^{(please verify)} istok (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} poreklo (sh) n, ^{(please verify)} postanak (sh) m

Anagrams[edit]

nigori

Источник

etymology

study of the history of words

et·y·mol·o·gy

(ĕt′ə-mŏl′ə-jē)

n. pl. et·y·mol·o·gies

1. The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

2. The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.

[Middle English etimologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Medieval Latin ethimologia, from Latin etymologia, from Greek etumologiā : etumon, true sense of a word; see etymon + -logiā, -logy.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

etymology

(ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒɪ)

n, pl -gies

1. (Linguistics) the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes

2. (Linguistics) an account of the source and development of a word or morpheme

[C14: via Latin from Greek etumologia; see etymon, -logy]

etymological adj

ˌetymoˈlogically adv

ˌetyˈmologist n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

et•y•mol•o•gy

(ˌɛt əˈmɒl ə dʒi)

n., pl. -gies.

1. the history of a particular word or element of a word.

2. an account of the origin and development of a word or word element.

3. the study of historical linguistic change, esp. as manifested in individual words.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin etymologia < Greek etymología; see etymon, -logy]

et`y•mo•log′i•cal (-məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl) adj.

et`y•mo•log′i•cal•ly, adv.

et`y•mol′o•gist, n.

etymology

the branch of linguistics that studies the origin and history of words. — etymologist, n. — etymologie, etymological, adj.

etymology

1. The study of the origins and development of words.

2. The study of the history of words, tracing them back to their earliest recorded forms.

Источник

Top Definitions
Synonyms
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British
Scientific

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

[ awr-i-jin, or— ]

/ ˈɔr ɪ dʒɪn, ˈɒr- /

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

noun

something from which anything arises or is derived; source; fountainhead: to follow a stream to its origin.

rise or derivation from a particular source: the origin of a word.

the first stage of existence; beginning: the origin of Quakerism in America.

ancestry; parentage; extraction: to be of Scottish origin.

Anatomy.

the point of derivation.
the more fixed portion of a muscle.

Mathematics.

the point in a Cartesian coordinate system where the axes intersect.
Also called pole. the point from which rays designating specific angles originate and are measured from in a polar coordinate system with no axes.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Which sentence is correct?

Origin of origin

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin orīgin- (stem of orīgō) beginning, source, lineage, derivative of orīrī to rise; cf. orient

Words nearby origin

orig., origami, origan, origanum, Origen, origin, original, original equipment manufacturer, originalism, originality, originally

Words related to origin

ancestor, ancestry, connection, element, influence, motive, provenance, root, source, birth, genesis, descent, lineage, agent, antecedent, author, base, causality, causation, creator

How to use origin in a sentence

I think we can see Liz’s story is sort of an origin point for so many cultural themes today.
Its 2018 report, “Reclaiming Native Truth,” explored the perceptions that Americans have of Native people, the origins of those perceptions and the impact that the perceptions have on Native people, particularly children.
In speaking with Parents for Peace, however, she began to think more about the origins of his views.
The notion of centering my column on “new” revelations about the origins of the Pentagon Papers seemed to be collapsing.

The scenario involved one storm, with origins in the Pacific Ocean, that would race across the country, die out over Ohio, and then hand off its energy to a secondary storm developing off the Mid-Atlantic coast.
“The origin of Brokpas is lost in antiquity,” a research article from the University of Delhi notes.
The mythic origin of the feast was the creation of the world by the god Marduk.
Some of the more notorious “green on blue” attacks have their origin in such outraged honor.
Black Alice and Strix have origin stories that more closely resemble the archetypal comic heroes.
The virus had to come from somewhere, but no one could figure out its origin.
Just corporeal enough to attest humanity, yet sufficiently transparent to let the celestial origin shine through.
But not only has the name tobacco and the implements employed in its use caused much discussion but also the origin of the plant.
A marked increase indicates some pathologic condition at the site of their origin.
William King, archbishop of Dublin, died; author of a celebrated treatise on the origin of evil.
Carpenter were the leaders, and this is claimed to have been the origin of Mechanics’ Institutes.

British Dictionary definitions for origin

noun

a primary source; derivation

the beginning of something; first stage or part

(often plural) ancestry or parentage; birth; extraction

anatomy

the end of a muscle, opposite its point of insertion
the beginning of a nerve or blood vessel or the site where it first starts to branch out

maths

the point of intersection of coordinate axes or planes
the point whose coordinates are all zeroSee also pole 2 (def.

commerce the country from which a commodity or product originatesshipment from origin

Word Origin for origin

C16: from French origine, from Latin orīgō beginning, birth, from orīrī to rise, spring from

Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for origin

The point at which the axes of a Cartesian coordinate system intersect. The coordinates of the origin are (0,0) in two dimensions and (0,0,0) in three dimensions.

Источник

We use different languages worldwide to communicate with each other. Every so often we wonder where a word came from. How did a particular word start being used as a common word worldwide and where did it actually originate from. So to find this out we will explore the world of languages and origin of words in this article. This article will cover websites which will let you know the origin of a word.

The study of origin of a word is known as Etymology. You will find that often there are popular tales behind the origin of a word. Most of these tales are just tales and not true, but knowing how the word came into being is equally interesting. So let’s look at these websites to know the origin of words below.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Online etymology dictionary explains you the origin of words and what they meant along with how they would have sounded years back. You would see a date beside each word. This date represents the earliest evidence of this word being used in some sort of written manuscript. Now you can either search for a word you are looking for by typing it in the search box given at the top of the page, otherwise you can browse the words alphabetically. The website has a huge collection of words in it. You can go through the words and find out there origins and meanings as well.

Word Origins by English Oxford Living Dictionaries

Word Origins by English Oxford Living Dictionaries is a good website to know about a words origin. You can check out origin of a word or a phrase. You can search for the word or a phrase you are looking for or can even browse the page to know origin of different words. The website apart from this has a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar helper, etc. As this app has a dictionary, it proves to be a good source for knowing the origin of a word. You can see trending words when you scroll down the page. You can also subscribe to the newsletter on this website to receive updates regarding new words, phrases, etc.

Wordorigins.org

The website Wordorigins.org will let you know the origin of words and phrases. The website has a big list of words which you can go through, or even search for a particular word that you are looking for. The website also has a blog and discussion forum where people can discuss there views. You can login and become a member of the website so you receive regular updates from the website. You can either start browsing words by going to the big list words tab, or by searching for a word. The big list of words is in alphabetical order and there are about 400 words in here. Each word has a interesting story or folklore related to it.

Words of the World

Words of the World is a website which lets you watch videos to let you know the origin of a word. The website explains which language a word originated from through a video. The home page of the website will have a list of words for which you can see a video explaining how the word originated. The words on the home page are given in the format as shown in the screenshot above, but they can also be turned into a neat list if you like. The website is supported by the University of Nottingham and thus is a trusted source.

Learning Nerd

Learning Nerd is another website which has a section on English etymology resources. The website lists references to origin of words like there are word origin dictionaries listed, words with Greek and Latin roots are under a different category, words originating from around the world can be found under international words, and then there is a section for miscellaneous words. You can also play etymology quizzes and listen to etymology podcasts as well. The website itself doesn’t have much information about word origins but will redirect you to another website for your word needs.

Learn That Word

Learn That Word is another website which lists root words and prefixes. The website is pretty basic and a list of words can be seen right on the first page. The words are listed alphabetically, so you can even jump to a word that you are looking for easily. The website will list the root word, its meaning, its place of origin, and then definition and examples. This can be seen in the screenshot above.

These are the websites I found which let you know the origin of a word. Go through them and let me know which one you liked most. If you think there is a website which could be included in this article then leave a comment below.

Источник

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English[edit]

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Noun[edit]

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Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

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etymology

et·y·mol·o·gy

etymology

et•y•mol•o•gy

etymology

etymology

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