English
originality
Originality comes from Latin orīginālis ‘original’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *oriōr ‘to rise, get up’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōr‘to rise, get up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorior‘to originate, to be born’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgōas orīginis‘origin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīginālis‘original’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentoriginal
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentoriginalité
- Englishearliest quotation 1946originality
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōr‘to rise, get up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorior‘to originate, to be born’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgōas orīginis‘origin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīginālis‘original’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentoriginal
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentoriginalité
- Englishearliest quotation 1946originality
Earliest quotation: 1946, and April, British Locomotive Practice and Performance: “The space at my disposal does not permit me…”
Equivalent to original + -ity
Proto-Italic *oriōr ‘to rise’
…
Latin orīgō ‘beginning’
Late Latin orīginālis ‘primitive’
Old French original
Middle English original ‘original’
English original
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- ‘to rise, to spring’
run, ride, earn, orient, irritable, irritate, ornithology, erne, orogeny, 15 more
through Latin orior ‘to originate, to be born’
abortion, abort, aborigines, orienteering, 6 more
through Latin orīgō ‘origin’
Today it means
noun The quality of being original or novel.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *oriōr / originality