original

[uh-rij-uh-nl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR original ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the origin or beginning of something, or to a thing at its beginning: The book still has its original binding.

new; fresh; inventive; novel: an original way of advertising.

arising or proceeding independently of anything else: an original view of history.

capable of or given to thinking or acting in an independent, creative, or individual manner: an original thinker.

created, undertaken, or presented for the first time: to give the original performance of a string quartet.

being something from which a copy, a translation, or the like is made: The original document is in Washington.

noun

a primary form or type from which varieties are derived.

an original work, writing, or the like, as opposed to any copy or imitation: The original of this is in the British Museum.

the person or thing represented by a picture, description, etc.: The original is said to have been the painter's own house.

a person whose ways of thinking or acting are original: In a field of brilliant technicians he is a true original.

Archaic. an eccentric person.

Archaic. a source of being; an author or originator.

Origin of original

1300–50; Middle English < Latin orīginālis (adj.) and Medieval Latin orīgināle original document (noun use of neuter adj.), equivalent to orīgin- (see origin) + -ālis -al¹

Related formsnon·o·rig·i·nal, adjective, nounnon·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbpre·o·rig·i·nal, adjectivepre·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbqua·si-o·rig·i·nal, adjectivequa·si-o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbun·o·rig·i·nal, adjectiveun·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for original

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR original ON THESAURUS.COM

1. primary, primordial, primeval, primitive, aboriginal. 7. archetype, pattern, prototype, model.

Antonyms for original

7. copy.

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

Related Words for original

initial, authentic, seminal, imaginative, unusual, inventive, unconventional, creative, innovative, pattern, model, character, prime, infant, opening, beginning, primary, pioneer, aboriginal, primitive

Examples from the Web for original

Contemporary Examples of original

Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical
Stereo Williams
January 9, 2015
It was original in how it treated Nixon and his connection to the right before 1968.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society
Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch
January 4, 2015
Obviously, not all the original cast can come back or even have the desire.
Juiciest ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rumors (and Some Debunked Ones)
Rich Goldstein
January 3, 2015
Yes, the original Bond, as imagined by Ian Fleming, was obviously white.
Rush Limbaugh’s Fear of a Black James Bond
Dean Obeidallah
December 29, 2014
The source code for the original “Shamoon” malware is widely known to have leaked.
No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony
Marc Rogers
December 24, 2014

Historical Examples of original

The original owners of these farms had moved into Egypt years and years ago.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
His character was so open, that I did not need to correct my original conception of it.
Biographical Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
This etext was prepared from the original 1821 edition and the 1948 edition.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
William Dobein James
He who is parted from God has no original nothingness with which to take refuge.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Still another of the original seven stood in the immediate vicinity.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden

British Dictionary definitions for original

original

adjective

of or relating to an origin or beginning

fresh and unusual; novel

able to think of or carry out new ideas or concepts

being that from which a copy, translation, etc, is made

noun

the first and genuine form of something, from which others are derived

a person or thing used as a model in art or literature

a person whose way of thinking is unusual or creative

an unconventional or strange person

the first form or occurrence of something

an archaic word for originatorSee originator

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 original

adj.

early 14c., "first in time, earliest," from Old French original "first" (13c.) and directly from Latin originalis, from originem (nominative origo) "beginning, source, birth," from oriri "to rise" (see orchestra). The first reference is in original sin "innate depravity of man's nature," supposed to be inherited from Adam in consequence of the Fall. Related: Originally.

"original text," late 14c., from Medieval Latin originale (see original (adj.)). Of photographs, films, sound recordings, etc., from 1918.