origin

[awr-i-jin, or-]

noun

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

   to follow a stream to its origin.

   Synonyms: foundation, root
   Antonyms: end, destination

2. rise or derivation from a particular source.

   the origin of a word.

3. the first stage of existence; beginning.

   the origin of Quakerism in America.

4. ancestry; parentage; extraction.

   to be of Scottish origin.

   Synonyms: descent, linage, birth

5. Anatomy.

   1. the point of derivation.

   2. the more fixed portion of a muscle.

6. Mathematics.

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

   2. 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

/ ˈɒrɪdʒɪn /

noun

1. a primary source; derivation

2. the beginning of something; first stage or part

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

4. anatomy

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

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

5. maths

   1. the point of intersection of coordinate axes or planes

   2. the point whose coordinates are all zero See also pole 2

6. commerce the country from which a commodity or product originates

   shipment from origin

origin

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of origin¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin orīgin-, stem of orīgō “beginning, source, lineage,” from or(īrī) “to rise” ( orient ) + -īgō, noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of origin¹

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

Example Sentences

People outside Sudan often hear competing narratives about the war’s origins.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Marvin Glass, whose firm’s origins date to the early 1940s, pioneered the idea of forming independent design studios to invent toys that could be licensed to toy manufacturers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The rumours, though mostly ignored, never fully disappeared, and this year he decided to make "a concerted effort to find their origin".

Read more on BBC

Department of Education alleging that Berkeley public schools ignored reports of bullying and harassment of Jewish students on the basis of their ethnicity, shared ancestry and national origin.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Their temporary immigration status would also be reviewed every two and a half years and could be revoked if their country of origin is deemed safe.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• ancestor 
• ancestry 
• connection 
• element 
• influence 
• motive 
• provenance 
• root 
• source