Adjacent Words

Original definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ORIG'INAL, n.
1. Origin. [See Origin, with which it accords in signification.]
2. Fountain; source; cause; that from which any thing primarily proceeds; that which gives existence or beginning. The apostasy is believed to have been the origin of moral evil. The origin of many of our customs is lost in antiquity. Nations, like individuals, are ambitious to trace their descent from an honorable origin.
ORIG'INAL, a. [L. orginialis.]
1. First in order; preceding all others; as the original state of man; the original laws of a country; original rights or powers; the original question in debate.
2. Primitive; pristine; as the original perfection of Adam.
Original sin, as applied to Adam, was his first act of disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit; as applied to his posterity, it is understood to mean either the sin of Adam imputed to his posterity, or that corruption of nature, or total depravity, which has been derived from him in consequence of his apostasy. On this subject divines are not agreed.
In strictness, original sin is an improper use of words, as sin, ex vi termini, implies volition and the transgression of a known rule of duty by a moral agent. But this application of the words has been established by long use, and it serves to express ideas which many wise and good men entertain on this subject.
3. Having the power to originate new thoughts or combinations of thought; as an original genius.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed; "the original inhabitants of the Americas"; "the book still has its original binding"; "restored the house to its original condition"; "the original performance of the opera"; "the original cast"; "retracted his original statement"
2: (of e.g. information) not secondhand or by way of something intermediary; "his work is based on only original, not secondary, sources"
3: being or productive of something fresh and unusual; or being as first made or thought of; "a truly original approach"; "with original music"; "an original mind" [ant: unoriginal]
4: not derived or copied or translated from something else; "the play is original; not an adaptation"; "he kept the original copy and gave her only a xerox"; "the translation misses much of the subtlety of the original French" n
1: an original creation (i.e., an audio recording) from which copies can be made [syn: master, master copy, original]
2: something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies; "this painting is a copy of the original" [syn: original, archetype, pilot]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 14th century 1. archaic the source or cause from which something arises; specifically originator 2. a. that from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made b. a work composed firsthand 3. a. a person of fresh initiative or inventive capacity b. a unique or eccentric person II. adjective Date: 14th century 1. of, relating to, or constituting an origin or beginning ; initial <the original part of the house> 2. a. not secondary, derivative, or imitative <an original composition> b. being the first instance or source from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is or can be made 3. independent and creative in thought or action ; inventive <an original artist> Synonyms: see new

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 existing from the beginning; innate. 2 novel; inventive; creative (has an original mind). 3 serving as a pattern; not derivative or imitative; firsthand (in the original Greek; has an original Rembrandt). --n. 1 an original model, pattern, picture, etc. from which another is copied or translated (kept the copy and destroyed the original). 2 an eccentric or unusual person. 3 a a garment specially designed for a fashion collection. b a copy of such a garment made to order. Phrases and idioms: original instrument a musical instrument, or a copy of one, dating from the time the music played on it was composed. original print a print made directly from an artist's own woodcut, etching, etc., and printed under the artist's supervision. original sin the innate depravity of all mankind held to be a consequence of the Fall. Derivatives: originally adv. Etymology: ME f. OF original or L originalis (as ORIGIN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Original O*rig"i*nal, n. [Cf. F. original.] 1. Origin; commencement; source. It hath it original from much grief. --Shak. And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim. --Addison. 2. That which precedes all others of its class; archetype; first copy; hence, an original work of art, manuscript, text, and the like, as distinguished from a copy, translation, etc. The Scriptures may be now read in their own original. --Milton. 3. An original thinker or writer; an originator. [R.] Men who are bad at copying, yet are good originals. --C. G. Leland. 4. A person of marked eccentricity. [Colloq.] 5. (Zo["o]l. & Bot.) The natural or wild species from which a domesticated or cultivated variety has been derived; as, the wolf is thought by some to be the original of the dog, the blackthorn the original of the plum.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Original O*rig"i*nal, a. [F. original, L. originalis.] 1. Pertaining to the origin or beginning; preceding all others; first in order; primitive; primary; pristine; as, the original state of man; the original laws of a country; the original inventor of a process. His form had yet not lost All her original brightness. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(originals) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. You use original when referring to something that existed at the beginning of a process or activity, or the characteristics that something had when it began or was made. The inhabitants have voted overwhelmingly to restore the city's original name of Chemnitz. ADJ: det ADJ 2. If something such as a document, a work of art, or a piece of writing is an original, it is not a copy or a later version. When you have filled in the questionnaire, copy it and send the original to your employer... For once the sequel is as good as the original. N-COUNT 3. An original document or work of art is not a copy. ...an original movie poster. ADJ: usu ADJ n 4. An original piece of writing or music was written recently and has not been published or performed before. ...its policy of commissioning original work. ...with catchy original songs by Richard Warner. ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. If you describe someone or their work as original, you mean that they are very imaginative and have new ideas. It is one of the most original works of imagination in the language. ...an original writer. = innovative ADJ [approval] • originality He was capable of writing things of startling originality. 6. If you read or sing something in the original or, for example, in the original French, you read or sing it in the language it was written in, rather than a translation. He read every book or author it deals with, often in the original... The texts were sung in the original Italian. PHRASE: PHR after v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Primitive, aboriginal, primeval, primary, primordial, pristine, first. 2. Untranslated. 3. Inventive, creative. II. n. 1. Source, spring, origin, cause, commencement. 2. Archetype, model, pattern, type, prototype, protoplast, exemplar, first copy. 3. (Colloq.) Oddity, eccentric person.

Moby Thesaurus

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