origin
origin Lexical Profile
origin Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The point, place, or situation where something begins, arises, or is derived.
"Historians have spent decades tracing the origin of the ancient trade route."
A person's social, cultural, or ancestral background, parentage, or heritage (often used in the plural).
"Despite his humble origins, he rose to become one of the most respected jurists in the country."
A fixed reference point in a coordinate system where the axes intersect and where the values of all coordinates are zero.
"The graph of the linear equation passes directly through the origin."
The more fixed, proximal attachment point of a muscle that remains relatively stationary during contraction, as opposed to its insertion.
"The biceps brachii has two heads with distinct points of origin on the scapula."
• Rhymes for origin
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English via Old French origine from Latin origo ('beginning, source, birth'), derived from the verb oriri, meaning 'to rise' or 'to come into existence'.