origin
[ awr-i-jin, or- ]
/ ˈɔr ɪ dʒɪn, ˈɒr- /
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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.
SYNONYMS FOR origin
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for origin
British Dictionary definitions for origin
origin
/ (ˈɒrɪdʒɪn) /
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. 8)
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
Medical definitions for origin
origin
[ ôr′ə-jĭn ]
n.
The point at which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived.
The fact of originating; rise or derivation.
The point of attachment of a muscle that remains relatively fixed during contraction.
The starting point of a cranial or spinal nerve.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for origin
origin
[ 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® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.