origin

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

or·i·gin

(ôr′ə-jĭn, ŏr′-)

1. The point at which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived.

2. often origins Ancestry: "We cannot escape our origins, however hard we try" (James Baldwin).

3. The fact of originating; rise or derivation: The rumor had its origin in an impulsive remark.

4. Anatomy The point of attachment of a muscle that remains relatively fixed during contraction.

5. Mathematics The point of intersection of coordinate axes, as in the Cartesian coordinate system.

[Middle English origine, ancestry, from Latin orīgō, orīgin-, from orīrī, to arise, be born; see er- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: origin, inception, source, root¹
These nouns signify the point at which something originates. Origin is the point at which something comes into existence: The origins of some words are unknown. When origin refers to people, it means parentage or ancestry: "He came ... of mixed French and Scottish origin" (Charlotte Brontë).
Inception is the beginning, as of an action or process: The researcher was involved in the project from its inception. Source signifies the point at which something springs into being or from which it derives or is obtained: "The mysterious ... is the source of all true art and science" (Albert Einstein).
Root denotes what is considered the fundamental cause of or basic reason for something: "Lack of money is the root of all evil" (George Bernard Shaw).

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.

origin

(ˈɒrɪdʒɪn)

1. a primary source; derivation

2. the beginning of something; first stage or part

3. (often plural) ancestry or parentage; birth; extraction

4. (Anatomy) anatomy

a. the end of a muscle, opposite its point of insertion

b. the beginning of a nerve or blood vessel or the site where it first starts to branch out

5. (Mathematics) maths

a. the point of intersection of coordinate axes or planes

b. the point whose coordinates are all zero. See also pole²⁸

6. (Commerce) commerce the country from which a commodity or product originates: shipment from origin.

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

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

or•i•gin

(ˈɔr ɪ dʒɪn, ˈɒr-)

n.

1. something from which anything arises or is derived; source.

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

3. the first stage of existence; beginning.

4. ancestry; parentage: of Scottish origin.

5. Anat.

a. the point of derivation.

b. the more fixed portion of a muscle.

6. Math.

a. the point in a Cartesian coordinate system where the axes intersect.

b. Also called pole. the point from which rays designating specific angles originate in a polar coordinate system with no axes.

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

or·i·gin

(ôr′ə-jĭn)

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.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

origin

Beginning point of a deployment where unit or non-unit-related cargo or personnel are located.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	origin - the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root" source, root, rootage, beginning derivation - the source or origin from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues); "he prefers shoes of Italian derivation"; "music of Turkish derivation" spring - a point at which water issues forth headspring, fountainhead, head - the source of water from which a stream arises; "they tracked him back toward the head of the stream" headwater - the source of a river; "the headwaters of the Nile" wellhead, wellspring - the source of water for a well jumping-off place, point of departure - a place from which an enterprise or expedition is launched; "one day when I was at a suitable jumping-off place I decided to see if I could find him"; "my point of departure was San Francisco" place of origin, provenance, provenience, birthplace, cradle - where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence; "the birthplace of civilization" home - place where something began and flourished; "the United States is the home of basketball" point source - a concentrated source (especially of radiation or pollution) that is spatially constricted trail head, trailhead - the beginning of a trail point - the precise location of something; a spatially limited location; "she walked to a point where she could survey the whole street"
	2.	origin - properties attributable to your ancestry; "he comes from good origins" descent, extraction ancestry, filiation, lineage, derivation - inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline full blood - descent from parents both of one pure breed
	3.	origin - an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events inception, origination beginning - the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war" germination - the origin of some development; "the germination of their discontent" cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash" prelude, overture, preliminary - something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner" procession, emanation, rise - (theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; "the emanation of the Holy Spirit"; "the rising of the Holy Ghost"; "the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son"
	4.	origin - the point of intersection of coordinate axes; where the values of the coordinates are all zero intersection - a point or set of points common to two or more geometric configurations
	5.	origin - the source of something's existence or from which it derives or is derived; "the rumor had its origin in idle gossip"; "vegetable origins"; "mineral origin"; "origin in sensation" source - (technology) a process by which energy or a substance enters a system; "a heat source"; "a source of carbon dioxide"
	6.	origin - the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has been warriors" blood line, bloodline, ancestry, lineage, pedigree, stemma, line of descent, parentage, blood, descent, stock, line kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, family line, sept, folk, family - people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower" side - a family line of descent; "he gets his brains from his father's side" family tree, genealogy - successive generations of kin

origin

noun

1. beginning, start, birth, source, launch, foundation, creation, dawning, early stages, emergence, outset, starting point, onset, genesis, initiation, inauguration, inception, font (poetic), commencement, fountain, fount, origination, fountainhead, mainspring theories about the origin of life
beginning end, death, finish, conclusion, outcome, finale, termination, culmination, expiry

2. root, source, basis, beginnings, base, cause, spring, roots, seed, foundation, nucleus, germ, provenance, derivation, wellspring, fons et origo (Latin) What is the origin of the word `honeymoon'?

3. ancestry, family, race, beginnings, stock, blood, birth, heritage, ancestors, descent, pedigree, extraction, lineage, forebears, antecedents, parentage, forefathers, genealogy, derivation, progenitors, stirps people of Asian origin

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

origin

noun

1. A point of origination:

beginning, derivation, fount, fountain, fountainhead, mother, parent, provenance, provenience, root, rootstock, source, spring, well.

2. The initial stage of a developmental process:

beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, genesis, inception, nascence, nascency, onset, opening, outset, spring, start.

3. One's ancestors or their character or one's ancestral derivation:

ancestry, birth, blood, bloodline, descent, extraction, family, genealogy, line, lineage, parentage, pedigree, seed, stock.

Translations

أصْلٌأصْل، سَبَباصل

původvznikpočátek

oprindelseopståen

Ursprung Entstehung Herkunft

προέλευση αρχή γένεση

origen ascendencia fuente

alkuperäorigo

origine

porijeklovreloishodišteizvorizvorište

eredetkezdetszármazás

uppruni

origine provenienza un originale principioallogeno

起源

근원

koks buvo iš pradžiųoriginalasoriginaliaioriginalumasoriginalus

izcelšanāsizcelsmesākotne

происхождение возникновение исток источник начало

izvor

ursprung

จุดกำเนิด

kaynak

nguồn gốc

起源

origin

[ˈɒrɪdʒɪn] N [of belief, rumour, language, person] → origen m; [of river] → nacimiento m
country of origin → país m de origen or de procedencia
to be of humble origin; have humble origins → ser de origen humilde

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

origin

[ˈɒrɪdʒɪn]

(gen) → origine f

people of Indian origin → des personnes d'origine indienne country of origin origins

npl

[person] → origines fpl
your working-class origins → tes origines prolétariennes

to have its origins in sth [situation, problem] → tirer ses origines de qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

origin

→ Ursprung m, → Herkunft f; (of person, family) → Herkunft f, → Abstammung f; (of world) → Entstehung f; (of river) → Ursprung m (geh); to have its origin in something → auf etw (acc) → zurückgehen; (river) → in etw (dat) → entspringen; his family had its origin in France → seine Familie ist französischer Herkunft; country of origin → Herkunftsland nt; nobody knew the origin of that story → niemand wusste, wie die Geschichte entstanden war; what are his origins? → was für eine Herkunft hat er?

(Math) → Ursprung m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

origin

[ˈɒrɪdʒɪn] n → origine f
country of origin → paese m d'origine
to be of humble origin or have humble origins → essere di umili origini

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

origin

(ˈoridʒin) noun

the place or point from which anything first comes; the cause. the origin(s) of the English language; the origin of the disagreement.

oˈriginal (əˈri-) adjective

1. existing at the beginning; first. This part of the house is new but the rest is original.

2. (able to produce ideas which are) new, fresh or not thought of before. original ideas; He has a very original mind.

3. (of a painting etc) by the artist etc, from which copies may be made. The original painting is in the museum, but there are hundreds of copies.

noun

1. the earliest version. This is the original – all the others are copies.

2. a model from which a painting etc is made. She is the original of the famous portrait.

oˌrigiˈnality (əridʒiˈnӕ-) noun

His writing shows originality.

oˈriginally adverb

originate (əˈridʒineit) verb

to bring or come into being. That style of painting originated in China.

ˈorigins noun plural

a person's place of birth, family background etc. He tried to hide his origins.

origin

→ أصْلٌ původ oprindelse Ursprung προέλευση origen alkuperä origine porijeklo origine 起源 근원 oorsprong opprinnelse zaczątek origem происхождение ursprung จุดกำเนิด kaynak nguồn gốc 起源

or·i·gin

n. origen, principio.

References in classic literature ?

Give heed, my brethren, to every hour when your spirit would speak in similes: there is the origin of your virtue.

View in context

These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species--that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers.

View in context

It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the American continent have an Asiatic origin. There are many physical as well as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and some few that would seem to weigh against it.

View in context

And first I will speak of the nature and origin of justice according to the common view of them.

View in context

While our family has followed the general human law in the matter just mentioned, it forms a marked exception to the rule that so absolutely controls all of white blood, on this continent, in what relates to immigration and territorial origin. When the American enters on the history of his ancestors, he is driven, after some ten or twelve generations at most, to seek refuge in a country in Europe; whereas exactly the reverse is the case with us, our most remote extraction being American, while our more recent construction and education have taken place in Europe.

View in context

They derive their origin from a deep religious and contemplative feeling, and also from an observation of curious mental phenomena.

View in context

The origin of the Chinese tone is not a poetical one, but is undoubtedly due to the necessity of having some distinguishing method of accentuation in a language which only contains about four hundred different sounds.

View in context

We can imagine, therefore, that among such folk a settler, of Aeolic origin like Hesiod, who clearly was well acquainted with the Ionian epos, would naturally see that the only outlet for his gifts lay in applying epic poetry to new themes acceptable to his hearers.

View in context

Now money-making, as we say, being twofold, it may be applied to two purposes, the service of the house or retail trade; of which the first is necessary and commendable, the other justly censurable; for it has not its origin in [1258b] nature, but by it men gain from each other; for usury is most reasonably detested, as it is increasing our fortune by money itself, and not employing it for the purpose it was originally intended, namely exchange.

View in context

In his account of the singular and interesting people among whom he was thrown, it will be observed that he chiefly treats of their more obvious peculiarities; and, in describing their customs, refrains in most cases from entering into explanations concerning their origin and purposes.

View in context

The mate, of course, had no suspicion of the true origin of these monsters, but his knowledge of the fact that they had not been upon the island when the Ithaca arrived and that it would have been impossible for them to have landed and reached the camp without having been seen by himself or some member of his company, was sufficient evidence to warrant him in attributing their presence to some supernatural and malignant power.

View in context

This is the origin of the letter, as expounded by the renowned Dr.

View in context

Full browser ?

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close