English

Verb

originate ‎(third-person singular simple present originates, present participle originating, simple past and past participle originated)

1. (transitive) To cause to be, to bring into existence; to produce, initiate. [from 17th c.]
   • 1998, James Hebert, "Banderas puts his mark on 'Zorro'", San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jul 1998:

     For the first time since Douglas Fairbanks Sr. originated the role in the 1920 silent "The Mark of Zorro," the hero will be played by a Hispanic actor.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 171:

     The financial backers who originated the Encyclopédie project in 1745 had no idea about what they were getting into.

   • 2012 January 1, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 86:

     Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.

2. (intransitive) To come into existence; to have origin or beginning; to spring, be derived (from, with). [from 18th c.]

   The scheme originated with the governor and council.

Synonyms

• initiate
• begin

Antonyms

• terminate
• end
• destinate (computing)

Related terms

• origin
• original
• origination
• originator

Translations

External links

• originate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• originate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Italian

Verb

originate

1. second-person plural present of originare
2. second-person plural imperative of originare
3. feminine plural past participle of originare

Anagrams

• iatrogeni
• ignoriate