originally
Americanadverb
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with respect to origin; by origin.
Originally he came from California.
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at the beginning; at first.
Originally this was to be in three volumes.
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in the first place; primarily.
Originally nomads, they first learned agriculture from the missionaries.
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in an original, novel, or distinctively individual manner.
Originally planned houses are much in demand.
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Archaic. from the beginning; from the first; inherently.
adverb
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in the first place
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in an original way
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with reference to the origin or beginning
Etymology
Origin of originally
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A row over security arrangements meant that Prince Harry did not bring Meghan or their children Archie and Lilibet to events in London, as had been originally planned.
From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026
I have heard this VAR reversal explained by reasonable folks—Ziko’s goal was revoked because the scoring play originally benefited from a foul.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
The researchers originally set out to better understand why strange metals behave so differently from conventional materials.
From Science Daily • Jul. 8, 2026
“We had some Ennio Morricone music. We put Bob Dylan’s ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’ in the movie originally — and that’s a score from somebody else’s movie.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
The passage originally contained a single direct quotation from Lucretius, but two more were added in 1588, and we will see in a moment that it is directly inspired by Lucretius on foedus naturae.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
