origin

[awr-i-jin, or-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR origin ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of origin

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

Synonyms for origin

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR origin ON THESAURUS.COM

1. root, foundation. 4. birth, lineage, descent.

Antonyms for origin

1. destination, end.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for origin

provenance, influence, element, motive, source, connection, ancestry, ancestor, root, genesis, birth, lineage, descent, embryo, producer, creator, spring, agent, seed, wellspring

Examples from the Web for origin

Contemporary Examples of origin

“The origin of Brokpas is lost in antiquity,” a research article from the University of Delhi notes.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans
Nina Strochlic
January 3, 2015
Some of the more notorious “green on blue” attacks have their origin in such outraged honor.
Afghanistan, We Hardly Knew You
Jonathan Foreman
December 8, 2014
Black Alice and Strix have origin stories that more closely resemble the archetypal comic heroes.
Gail Simone’s Bisexual Catman and the ‘Secret Six’
Rich Goldstein
December 6, 2014
The virus had to come from somewhere, but no one could figure out its origin.
Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved
Carrie Arnold
November 12, 2014
Roughly 40 percent of Americans seem to endorse some Creationist concept of history and origin.
Surprise! Leading ‘Birther’ Thinks Earth is 6,000 Years Young
Asawin Suebsaeng
October 26, 2014

Historical Examples of origin

I am not answerable for offences which have their origin in the eyes of the multitude.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
We see that the puzzle about identity proves at last to be of Grecian origin.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
The trout-fly settled all doubts in my mind as to his origin and his identity.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
Here we trace the origin of the infelicity of this religious household.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
Fanny betrayed in her face the Italian origin of her father.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for origin

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. 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

Word Origin and History for origin

c.1400, "ancestry, race," from Old French origine "origin, race," and directly from Latin originem (nominative origo) "a rise, commencement, beginning, source; descent, lineage, birth," from stem of oriri "to rise, become visible, appear" (see orchestra).

origin in Medicine

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.

origin in Science

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.