origin
Pluralorigins
- 1The point, time, place, or source from which something begins, arises, or is derived.
The label lists the country of origin for each item.
Investigators traced the leaked email back to its origin.
UsageUsually the origin of something. A set phrase: country of origin.
Similarsource, beginning, root, start (entry), provenance
Oppositeend, destination
Note
The question can be where something comes from or when it began. William James asks whether the origin of a truth could serve as a test of it, and Sam Leith follows swearing back to the origins of our words for bad language. It can look back in time to a beginning, or along a line of supply or descent.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- William James considers whether the origin of a truth could serve as a test of it. gutenberg.org
- Sam Leith discusses swearing through the origins of words for bad language. theguardian.com
- 2The ancestry or family background that a person comes from.
He rarely spoke about his humble origins.
The form asked applicants to state their national origin.
UsageUsually with of or from: of humble origins, people of Irish origin. Singular in set phrases like national origin.
Similarbackground, ancestry, descent, extraction, lineage
- 3In a coordinate system, the fixed zero point from which positions are measured, such as where the axes of a graph meet or a chosen point on the earth's surface.
The curve passes through the origin before rising sharply.
Distances are measured outward from the origin in both directions.
UsageUsually with the: a line through the origin, distances from the origin.
Note
A Cartesian coordinate system needs one fixed point, and mathematics calls it by this name. It is where the axes cross, and every coordinate there is zero. In vector language it is the zero vector, the point you reach by not moving at all.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The origin is where the axes intersect and all coordinates are zero. openstax.org
- The origin corresponds to the zero position vector, representing no displacement from the origin. matterandinteractions.org
Less common meaning
- 4The proximal end where a muscle attaches to the bone that stays still during the muscle's action.
The biceps has its origin on the scapula.
The biceps has its origin at the shoulder and its insertion near the elbow.
UsageA muscle has its origin on or at a bone; the other end is its insertion.
Oppositeinsertion
Note
Anatomists name both ends of a skeletal muscle, and this is usually the more fixed end. It is generally the proximal attachment, often on a bone that stays put while the muscle contracts. Its partner is the insertion, usually on the part that moves.
Practice
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Origin
This word came through Middle English "origine," perhaps by way of French "origine," from Latin "origo" ("beginning, source, birth, origin"), which derives from "orior" ("to rise"), the same root seen in "orient."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Origin developed from Middle English origine. en.wiktionary.org
- The word ultimately derives from Latin origo. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin origo means beginning, source, birth or origin. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin origo derives from orior. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin orior means to rise. en.wiktionary.org
- Orient also derives from Latin orior. en.wikipedia.org