Word Study
origin
CIDE DICTIONARY
origin, n. [F. origine, L. origo, -iginis, fr. oriri to rise, become visible; akin to Gr. 'orny`nai to stir up, rouse, Skr. , and perh. to E. run.].
- The first existence or beginning of anything; the birth. [1913 Webster]"This mixed system of opinion and sentiment had its origin in the ancient chivalry." [1913 Webster]
- That from which anything primarily proceeds; the fountain; the spring; the cause; the occasion. [1913 Webster]
- The point of attachment or end of a muscle which is fixed during contraction; -- in contradistinction to
insertion . [1913 Webster]"I think he would have set out just as he did, with the origin of ideas -- the proper starting point of a grammarian, who is to treat of their signs." [1913 Webster]"Famous Greece,
That source of art and cultivated thought
Which they to Rome, and Romans hither, brought." [1913 Webster]
Syn. -- Commencement; rise; source; spring; fountain; derivation; cause; root; foundation.
OXFORD DICTIONARY
origin, n.
1 a beginning or starting-point; a derivation; a source (a word of Latin origin).
2 (often in pl.) a person's ancestry (what are his origins?).
3 Anat. a a place at which a muscle is firmly attached. b a place where a nerve or blood vessel begins or branches from a main nerve or blood vessel.
4 Math. a fixed point from which coordinates are measured.
1 a beginning or starting-point; a derivation; a source (a word of Latin origin).
2 (often in pl.) a person's ancestry (what are his origins?).
3 Anat. a a place at which a muscle is firmly attached. b a place where a nerve or blood vessel begins or branches from a main nerve or blood vessel.
4 Math. a fixed point from which coordinates are measured.
Etymology
F origine or f. L origo -ginis f. oriri rise
THESAURUS
origin
A, alpha, ancestry, babyhood, base, basis, beginning, beginnings, birth, birthplace, blast-off, blood, childhood, commencement, comparative linguistics, conception, cradle, creation, cutting edge, dawn, dawning, derivation, descent, edge, eponymy, establishment, etymology, extraction, flying start, folk etymology, foundation, fount, fountain, fresh start, freshman year, genealogy, genesis, grass roots, head, heritage, historical linguistics, inauguration, inception, inchoation, incipience, incipiency, incunabula, infancy, institution, jump-off, kick-off, launch, launching, leading edge, lineage, maternity, nascence, nascency, nativity, new departure, oncoming, onset, opening, original, origination, origins, outbreak, outset, parentage, parturition, paternity, pedigree, pregnancy, provenance, provenience, radical, radix, rise, root, running start, semantic history, send-off, setting in motion, setting-up, source, square one, start, start-off, starting point, stem, stock, take-off, taproot, well, wellspring, whence, word history, youthROGET THESAURUS
origin
Beginning
N beginning, commencement, opening, outset, incipience, inception, inchoation, introduction, alpha, initial, inauguration, debut, le premier pas, embarcation, rising of the curtain, maiden speech, outbreak, onset, brunt, initiative, move, first move, narrow end of the wedge, thin end of the wedge, fresh start, new departure, origin, source, rise, bud, germ, egg, rudiment, genesis, primogenesis, birth, nativity, cradle, infancy, start, inception, creation, starting point, dawn, evolution, title-page, head, heading, van, caption, fatihah, entrance, entry, inlet, orifice, mouth, chops, lips, porch, portal, portico, propylon, door, gate, gateway, postern, wicket, threshold, vestibule, propylaeum, skirts, border, first stage, first blush, first glance, first impression, first sight, rudiments, elements, outlines, grammar, alphabet, ABC, beginning, initial, initiatory, initiative, inceptive, introductory, incipient, proemial, inaugural, inchoate, inchoative, embryonic, rudimental, primogenial, primeval, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, natal, nascent, first, foremost, leading, maiden, begun, just begun, at the beginning, in the beginning first, in the first place, imprimis, first and foremost, in limine, in the bud, in embryo, in its infancy, from the beginning, from its birth, ab initio, ab ovo, ab incunabilis, ab origine, let's get going!, let's get this show on the road!, up and at 'em!, aller Anfang ist schwer, dimidium facti qui coepit habet, omnium rerum principia parva sunt.Cause
N cause, origin, source, principle, element, occasioner, prime mover, primum mobile, vera causa, author, mainspring, agent, leaven, groundwork, foundation, spring, fountain, well, font, fountainhead, spring head, wellhead, fons et origo, genesis, descent, remote cause, influence, pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum, key, proximate cause, causa causans, straw that breaks the camel's back, ground, reason, reason why, why and wherefore, rationale, occasion, derivation, final cause, les dessous des cartes, undercurrents, rudiment, egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule, radicle, semen, sperm, nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed, causality, causation, origination, production, caused, causal, original, primary, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, protogenal, radical, embryonic, embryotic, in embryo, in ovo, seminal, germinal, at the bottom of, connate, having a common origin, because, behind the scenes, causa latet vis est notissima, felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.For further exploring for "origin" in Webster Dictionary Online
