originate

American  

[uh-rij-uh-neyt] / əˈrɪdʒ əˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

• originates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• originated,
  past participle,  past
• originating
  present participle

1. to take its origin or rise; begin; start; arise.

   The practice originated during the Middle Ages.

2. (of a train, bus, or other public conveyance) to begin a scheduled run at a specified place.

   This train originates at Philadelphia.

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verb (used with object)

• originates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• originated,
  past participle,  past
• originating
  present participle

1. to give origin or rise to; initiate; invent.

   to originate a better method.

originate British  

/ əˈrɪdʒɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to come or bring into being

2. (intr) (of a bus, train, etc) to begin its journey at a specified point

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Synonym Usage

See discover.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• origination
  noun
• originator
  noun
• self-origination
  noun
• originable
  adjective
• self-originated
  adjective
• self-originating
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• originating
  present
• originated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• originate
  simple
• originates
  simple
• have originated
  perfect
• has originated
  perfect
• am originating
  progressive
• are originating
  progressive
• is originating
  progressive
• have been originating
  perfect progressive
• has been originating
  perfect progressive

Past

• originated
  simple
• had originated
  perfect
• was originating
  progressive
• were originating
  progressive
• had been originating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will originate
  simple
• will have originated
  perfect
• will be originating
  progressive
• will have been originating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of originate

First recorded in 1645–55; probably back formation from origination (from French ), from Latin orīginātiō “etymology”; see origin, -ate ¹, ion

Explanation

Originate is a verb that means to start or create something. You can originate the idea of adding a fancy new coffee machine to your company's break room, and before long, your entire office could be happily drinking mocha lattes. Originate is the place or point at which any new thing or idea starts. It usually doesn't end there, though. A carpet that originates in Turkey can travel all the way to an apartment in New York. A rumor can originate during first period, but by lunchtime it will have made its way around the entire high school.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

originate originates originated originating

Specialized enzymes are used to selectively cut away unmethylated DNA fragments, which largely originate from blood cells.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Americans are awash in scams, and while some swindles originate overseas, they are increasingly coming from closer to home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Many of the people who live in Walton and the wider constituency originate from east London.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

I assure you that it did not originate in The Onion.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

“They are said to originate in the city of Prague,” said the consul.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

The classic example is of dubious historical accuracy, but originates from the British occupation of India.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Rhine originates in the Swiss Alps, flows through and along the borders of several countries, and empties into the North Sea in the Netherlands.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

This new external impulse to reshape the Middle East originates not in grand chanceries but in nongovernmental movements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Researchers have spent decades trying to determine where it originates.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

We can look at where the waterway originates in the mountains, or an area that it flows through, or where it spills into the ocean.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

The term originated from ranchers who owned herds of cattle taking out futures contracts betting that the price of their livestock would rise—instead of taking the opposite position to limit risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

BBC Verify has also analysed satellite imagery suggesting the oil spill originated from an attack on a vessel in Omani waters on 3 August.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

"This implies that viviparity among early cynodonts originated in the mammalian lineage at least 95 to 90 million years earlier than previously thought."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

More than half of those interest deferments were agreed to after the loan was originated, according to Lincoln.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

It originated in the southern states of America, though it has since been exported worldwide.

From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

The Recording Academy said the new award aims to honour "artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop".

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

If you’re unfamiliar with hobby horsing, it’s a sport originating from Finland that’s growing in popularity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Tumor cells originating in the central nervous system displayed a moderate level of sensitivity to the treatment.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026

But it is worth remembering that inflationary forces originating with that accord helped cause the 1987 stock market crash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The Americas’ population now consists of a mixture of peoples originating from all continents except Australia.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• conceive
• develop
• discover
• evolve
• found
• generate
• hatch
• initiate
• invent
• produce
• spark
• spawn