originate

[uh-rij-uh-neyt]

verb (used without object)

originated, originating 

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.

verb (used with object)

originated, originating 

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

   to originate a better method.

originate

/ əˈrɪdʒɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to come or bring into being

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of originate¹

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

Synonym Study

See discover.

Example Sentences

The spill originated from a damaged gas tank owned by Carbon California, a company that operates oil and gas wells in the state, particularly in Ventura County.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There is now a more ubiquitous secondary market where originating lenders can sell their mortgages to intermediaries that securitize them and sell pieces to investors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The algae originate in the Sargasso Sea east of Florida.

Read more on Science Daily

Life Day has its roots in the beloved but campy and culturally questionable “Star Wars Holiday Special” as an event that originated on the Wookie home planet of Kashyyyk.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Baby Shark is believed to have originated in the US in the 1970s and was often sung at children's summer camps.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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