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.
Faint scorch marks could have formed when the pot was originally fired, or they may have appeared later if the vessel was set close to a fire to warm individual servings of food.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
He said he had originally planned to go out alone and "put some flowers on the water" to honour the family, before he decided to invite others.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Dre also rapped a verse—in fact, he originally intended to use the song for his next album, according to “Only God Can Judge Me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The exercises were originally scheduled to last until August 27.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The curfew too, at first, was no hardship for us, since it was originally set at 10:00 P.M., long after we were indoors in any case.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
