original

[uh-rij-uh-nl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR original ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the origin or beginning of something, or to a thing at its beginning: The book still has its original binding.

new; fresh; inventive; novel: an original way of advertising.

arising or proceeding independently of anything else: an original view of history.

capable of or given to thinking or acting in an independent, creative, or individual manner: an original thinker.

created, undertaken, or presented for the first time: to give the original performance of a string quartet.

being something from which a copy, a translation, or the like is made: The original document is in Washington.

noun

a primary form or type from which varieties are derived.

an original work, writing, or the like, as opposed to any copy or imitation: The original of this is in the British Museum.

the person or thing represented by a picture, description, etc.: The original is said to have been the painter's own house.

a person whose ways of thinking or acting are original: In a field of brilliant technicians he is a true original.

Archaic. an eccentric person.

Archaic. a source of being; an author or originator.

Origin of original

1300–50; Middle English < Latin orīginālis (adj.) and Medieval Latin orīgināle original document (noun use of neuter adj.), equivalent to orīgin- (see origin) + -ālis -al¹

Related formsnon·o·rig·i·nal, adjective, nounnon·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbpre·o·rig·i·nal, adjectivepre·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbqua·si-o·rig·i·nal, adjectivequa·si-o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverbun·o·rig·i·nal, adjectiveun·o·rig·i·nal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for original

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR original ON THESAURUS.COM

1. primary, primordial, primeval, primitive, aboriginal. 7. archetype, pattern, prototype, model.

Antonyms for original

7. copy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for unoriginal

conventional, counterfeit, derivative, imitative, musty, predictable, shopworn, stereotype, timeworn, trite, unimaginative

Examples from the Web for unoriginal

Contemporary Examples of unoriginal

Your most grating acquaintance could – and usually would – bombard you with reams of unoriginal drivel at the press of a key.
Unconsidered Trifles: Found Comedy in the Age of Social Media
Tom Doran
March 30, 2013
Alec Nevala-Lee says the result is vague and unoriginal, yet somehow still comforting.
‘The Tools’ Is Slick and Savvy—Like a Hollywood Remake
Alec Nevala-Lee
June 14, 2012
That simple, and unoriginal, fear lies at heart of The Crisis of Zionism.
A Response to Jonathan Rosen
Peter Beinart
April 17, 2012
Even her catchphrases came across as empty and unoriginal.
‘Bachelor’ Finale: Ben Flajnik, Courtney Robertson & a Terrible Season
Andy Dehnart
March 13, 2012

Historical Examples of unoriginal

It is as easy to be unoriginal as it is hard at times to be original.
Parkhurst Boys
Talbot Baines Reed
The advertising writer is the most unoriginal creature imaginable.
Post-Impressions
Simeon Strunsky
Yet one would be loath to approve his arguments, unoriginal as they are.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II)
Henry Osborn Taylor
And so on—respectable answers, unoriginal but having the sanction of history, of just and generous minds.
The Trial of Callista Blake
Edgar Pangborn
But the style of most of them is unoriginal, being merely an echo of that of the English Lake School.
John Greenleaf Whittier
W. Sloane Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for unoriginal

unoriginal

adjective

not fresh and unusual

original

adjective

of or relating to an origin or beginning

fresh and unusual; novel

able to think of or carry out new ideas or concepts

being that from which a copy, translation, etc, is made

noun

the first and genuine form of something, from which others are derived

a person or thing used as a model in art or literature

a person whose way of thinking is unusual or creative

an unconventional or strange person

the first form or occurrence of something

an archaic word for originatorSee originator

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unoriginal

adj.

1660s, "having no origin, uncreated," from un- (1) "not" + original (adj.). Meaning "derivative, second-hand" is recorded from 1774.

original

"original text," late 14c., from Medieval Latin originale (see original (adj.)). Of photographs, films, sound recordings, etc., from 1918.

original

adj.

early 14c., "first in time, earliest," from Old French original "first" (13c.) and directly from Latin originalis, from originem (nominative origo) "beginning, source, birth," from oriri "to rise" (see orchestra). The first reference is in original sin "innate depravity of man's nature," supposed to be inherited from Adam in consequence of the Fall. Related: Originally.