original

From Middle English original, from Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis (“primitive, original”), from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, origin”); see origin.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/, /əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ə.nəl/, /əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.nəl/

• Audio (US):

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• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /əˈɹəd͡ʒ.ə.nəl/, /əˈɹəd͡ʒ.nəl/
• IPA^(key): (obsolete) /ɒˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/^[1]
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ɵr(ɪ)ˈdʒɪ.nəl/, /ɵˈrɪdʒ.(ɪ)nəl/
• Hyphenation: o‧rig‧i‧nal, orig‧i‧nal

original (comparative more original, superlative most original)

1. (not comparable) Relating to the origin or beginning; preceding all others.

   the original state of mankind;  the original laws of a country;  the original inventor of a process

   • 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick‎^[2], →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL:

     The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.

2. (not comparable) First in a series of copies or versions.

   Synonym: initial

   The original manuscript contained spelling errors which were fixed in later versions.

   This recording is by the original broadway cast.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, […].

3. (not comparable) Newly created.

   Tonight we will hear an original work by one of our best composers.

4. (comparable) Fresh, different.

   The paper contains a number of original ideas about color perception.

5. (not comparable) Pioneering.

   Parker was one of the original bebop players.

6. (not comparable) Having a specified place or time as its origin.

   This kind of barbecue is original to North Carolina.

7. (of a potato chip) Seasoned with salt but no other flavoring; ready salted

• autograph
• prototype

• (antonym(s) of “first in a series”):
  • copy, reproduction, simile (imitation)
  • derivative (branch)
  • ultimate (last, extreme)

• → Japanese: オリジナル (orijinaru)
• → Malay: original

original (plural originals)

1. An object or other creation (e.g. narrative work) from which all later copies and variations are derived.

   Synonym: prototype

   Antonyms: copy, derivative, remake, reproduction, ultimate

   Hyponym: autograph

   This manuscript is the original.

   • 2025 November 12, Tony Streeter, “All around the world”, in RAIL, number 1048, page 42:

     Promontory's "last spike" ceremony was so significant to the USA's history that it is still regularly re-enacted today, using replica locomotives that nose up to each other just as the originals did.

2. A person with a unique and interesting personality or creative talent.
   • 1700, Tom Brown, Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London, page 5:

     I have a great mind to be in Print; but above all, I would fain be an Original, and that is a true Comical Thought: When all the Learned Men in the World are but Tranſlators, is it not a Pleaſant Jeſt, that you ſhould ſtrive to be an Original! You ſhould have obſerved your Time, and have come into the World with the Ancient Greeks for that purpoſe; for the Latines themſelves are but Copies.

   • 1975, The Educational Trends, volumes 10-14, page 59:

     Ahmad (1969) studied the personality differences among middle school girls identified as originals and unoriginals on the Minnesota's test of creative thinking.

   • 2010, A. Kusuma, Creativity and Cognitive Styles in Children, page 73:

     The originals or the creatives were more dominant than the unoriginals or the low creatives.

3. (archaic) An eccentric person.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:

     ‘Are you an alienist?’ I interrupted. ‘Every doctor should be - a little,’ answered that original, imperturbably.

4. A newly designed garment released by a fashion designer as part of a collection.
   • 1962, “It's Fashion fair time again”, in Ebony, volume 17, number 11, page 126:

     Fashion Fair will give every section first hand knowledge of the latest originals and 1962-63's exciting trends.

   • 1963, National Retail Merchants Association. Sales Promotion Division, The NRMA Sales Promotion Encyclopedia, Vol. II., page 175:

     One such show was built around the Du Pont spring collection of Paris originals.

5. A ridgeling.

• → Japanese: オリジナル (orijinaru)
• → Korean: 오리지널 (orijineol)

• “original”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “original”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Borrowed from Latin orīginālis. First attested in the 14th century.^[1]

• IPA^(key): (Central) [u.ɾi.ʒiˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [o.ɾi.ʒiˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [o.ɾi.d͡ʒiˈnal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

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original m or f (masculine and feminine plural originals)

1. original

• originalitat
• originalment

• origen

• “original”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “original” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “original” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

original (neuter originalt, plural and definite singular attributive originale)

1. original

original c (singular definite originalen, plural indefinite originaler)

1. an original

• “original” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “original” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Borrowed from Latin orīginālis. Doublet of originel.

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.ʁi.ʒi.nal/

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• Homophones: originale, originales

original (feminine originale, masculine plural originaux, feminine plural originales)

1. original

   Antonyms: banal, copié, reproduit, vulgaire

• Not to be confused with originel.

original m (plural originaux)

1. an unusual or eccentric person

   Synonym: drôle d'oiseau

2. an original manuscript

   Synonym: autographe

• “original”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Borrowed from French original, from Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis (“primitive, original”), from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, origin”). Doublet of originell.

• IPA^(key): /oʁiɡiˈnaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

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original (strong nominative masculine singular originaler, comparative originaler, superlative am originalsten)

1. original

original

1. (colloquial, intensifier) really, actually

   Synonyms: echt, wirklich

   • 1997, Alexa Hennig von Lange, chapter 1, in Relax‎^[3]:

     Wo ist jetzt diese verdammte Schachtel? Hier finde ich original nichts wieder.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• “original” in Duden online
• “original” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

• ori (clipping)

Borrowed from English original, from Middle English original, from Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis (“primitive, original”), from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, origin”).

• (English-based) IPA^(key): [ɔ.ri.d͡ʒi.nəl]
  • Rhymes: -nəl, -əl
• (Baku) IPA^(key): [ɔ.ri.ɡi.nal]
  • Rhymes: -nal, -al
• Hyphenation: o‧ri‧gi‧nal

original (Jawi spelling اوريݢينل, comparative lebih original, superlative paling original)

1. (informal) Not fake; original.

   Synonyms: asli, tulen

   Antonym: tiruan

• "original" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

• oryginall, origynall, orygynal, orygynall, origynal, oryginal, oregynall, originalle, originall

From Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis; equivalent to origyne +‎ -al.

• IPA^(key): /ɔˌrid͡ʒiˈnal/, /ɔˈrid͡ʒinal/

original (plural and weak singular originale)

1. original, primordial; preceding everything else
2. connected to the origin or beginning of something

• originali

• English: original
• Scots: original, oreeginal

• “orī̆ǧinā̆l(e, adj.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 26 February 2019.

original (plural originals) (Late Middle English)

1. the origin, lineage, or provenance of something
2. the authoritative, authorial, or primordial version of a work or source
3. (rare) something that isn't living or artificial; a primordial element
4. (rare) a reason, factor, or generator of something
5. (rare) the root or etymological ancestor of a word
6. (rare, religion) the making of the universe
7. (rare, law) a legal document beginning legal action

• originali

• English: original
• Scots: original, oreeginal

• “orī̆ǧinā̆l(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 26 February 2019.

From Latin orīginālis; the noun being derived from the adjective.

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original (neuter singular originalt, definite singular and plural originale)

1. original

original m (definite singular originalen, indefinite plural originaler, definite plural originalene)

1. an original

• “original” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin orīginālis; the noun being derived from the adjective.

original (neuter singular originalt, definite singular and plural originale)

1. original

original m (definite singular originalen, indefinite plural originalar, definite plural originalane)

1. an original

• “original” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Latin orīginālis.

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original m (feminine singular originala, masculine plural originals, feminine plural originalas)

1. original

• originalitat
• originalament

• origina

• oreginal, originall, origynal, orygenal

Learned borrowing from Latin orīginālis.

original m or f (plural originais)

1. original (relating to the origin or beginning)

original m (plural originais)

1. original (origin of later copies)

• Fala: (Valverdeñu, Mañegu) original, (Lagarteiru) uriginal
• Galician: orixinal
• Portuguese: original

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “original”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2020–2026), “original”, in Vocabulário histórico-cronológico do português medieval [Historical and chronological vocabulary of Medieval Portuguese] (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa
• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “original”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese original, from Latin orīginālis.

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

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• Rhymes: (Brazil) -aw, (Portugal) -al
• Hyphenation: o‧ri‧gi‧nal

original m or f (plural originais)

1. original (relating to the origin or beginning)
2. original (being the first in a series)
3. original (different; unique)

• origem

original m (plural originais)

1. original (origin of later copies)

• “original”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “original”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “original”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from Latin originalis or French original. By surface analysis, origine +‎ -al.

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original m or n (feminine singular originală, masculine plural originali, feminine/neuter plural originale)

1. original

• IPA^(key): /oriɡǐnaːl/
• Hyphenation: o‧ri‧gi‧nal

origìnāl m inan (Cyrillic spelling оригѝна̄л)

1. original

   Antonym: falsifikat

From Latin orīginālis.

• IPA^(key): /oɾixiˈnal/ [o.ɾi.xiˈnal]

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• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: o‧ri‧gi‧nal

original m or f (masculine and feminine plural originales)

1. original

• “original”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

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original n

1. an original
2. an eccentric or strange person (from notion of a one of a kind)

   Nisse är ett riktigt original

   Nisse is a real "one of a kind" (odd person)

• original in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• original in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• original in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)