origin

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   properties attributable to your ancestry

   The family has a diverse origin.

2. 2
   noun

   the source of something's existence or from which it derives or is derived

   the rumor had its origin in idle gossip

3. 3
   noun

   The beginning of something.

   place of origin

4. 4
   noun

   The source of a river, information, goods, etc.

   It is clear that the origin of the truth would be an admirable criterion of this sort, if only the various origins could be discriminated from one another from this point of view, and the history of dogmatic opinion shows that origin has always been a favorite test. Origin in immediate intuition; origin in pontifical authority; origin in supernatural revelation, as by vision, hearing, or unaccountable impression; origin in direct possession by a higher spirit, expressing itself in prophecy and warning; origin in automatic utterance generally,—these origins have been stock warrants for the truth of one opinion after another which we find represented in religious history.

5. 5
   noun

   the point of intersection of coordinate axes

6. 6
   noun

   an event that is a beginning

7. 7
   noun

   the descendants of one individual

8. 8
   noun

   the place where something begins, where it springs into being

Etymology

From Middle English origine, origyne, from Old French origine, orine, ourine, from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, birth, origin”), from orior (“to rise”); see orient. Doublet of origo.