originate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to take its origin or rise; begin; start; arise.
The practice originated during the Middle Ages.
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(of a train, bus, or other public conveyance) to begin a scheduled run at a specified place.
This train originates at Philadelphia.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to come or bring into being
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(intr) (of a bus, train, etc) to begin its journey at a specified point
Related Words
See discover.
Other Word Forms
- originable adjective
- origination noun
- originator noun
- self-originated adjective
- self-originating adjective
- self-origination noun
Etymology
Origin of originate
First recorded in 1645–55; probably back formation from origination (from French ), from Latin orīginātiō “etymology”; origin, -ate 1, ion
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.
Others have pointed out that the cost to pull a borrower’s credit records is a fraction of the cost to originate a mortgage.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
Rome’s blinkered position on war didn’t originate with Pope Leo XIV.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
Pezeshkian instead directly acknowledged that neighbouring countries had been targeted and said Iranian forces had now been asked to stop striking them unless attacks on Iran originate from their territory.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
Must invention remain exclusively human, or can autonomous computational systems genuinely originate ideas?
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
Long Beach Savings had been the first to embrace the originate and sell model and now was moving money out the door to new home buyers as fast as it could, few questions asked.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
