Original Meaning
/əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjRelating to the origin or beginning; preceding all others.
adjFirst in a series of copies or versions.
Sentence Examples
In order to keep his original idea from being copied, Henry resorted to reticence.
I don't like the new textbook for my English class; I prefer the original.
The room still has many of its original features.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum curator confirmed that the ancient vase was an ____ artifact, not a reproduction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The museum displayed the ____ manuscript alongside printed copies for visitors to compare.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English original, from Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis (“primitive, original”), from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, origin”); see origin.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL:
"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,[…]."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"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."
— 2025 November 12, Tony Streeter, “All around the world”, in RAIL, number 1048, page 42:
"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."
— 1700, Tom Brown, Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London, page 5:
"Ahmad (1969) studied the personality differences among middle school girls identified as originals and unoriginals on the Minnesota's test of creative thinking."
— 1975, The Educational Trends, volumes 10-14, page 59:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum curator confirmed that the ancient vase was an ____ artifact, not a reproduction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The museum displayed the ____ manuscript alongside printed copies for visitors to compare.