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.
The federal trial originally scheduled for September was delayed on Wednesday until October, and has now been pushed to January 25, 2027.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
The weekly shots originally had list prices of up to $1,350 a month, though prices have come down.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
His prior movie “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” originally premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was released theatrically in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
By examining these samples, researchers can see how water, minerals, and organic matter originally formed and interacted billions of years ago.
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
Usually nobody remembers who originally wrote it, or who changed it, and there may be more than one version of any particular folk song.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
