- [only before noun] existing at the beginning of a particular period, process or activity
- The room still has many of its original features.
- I think you should go back to your original plan.
- At the end of the lease, the land will be returned to the original owner.
- the original stage version of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
- The original intention was to publish a double album, but they opted instead for two separate releases.
Extra Examples- The clock was restored to its original condition.
- The original findings conflict with more recent findings.
- There have been many new findings since the original report.
Definitions on the go
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- new and interesting in a way that is different from anything that has existed before; able to produce new and interesting ideas
- an original idea
- That's not a very original suggestion.
- an original thinker
- the product of a highly original mind
- It's a taut, fast-moving detective story with strikingly original characters.
- I don't think this is a truly original idea.
- He believes that he is creating something wholly original.
Extra ExamplesTopics Literature and writingb1- They are tackling the problem in a completely original way.
- The film is challenging and highly original.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- [usually before noun] painted, written, etc. by the artist rather than copied
- an original painting by local artist Graham Tovey
- The original manuscript has been lost.
- Only original documents (= not photocopies) will be accepted as proof of status.
Word OriginMiddle English (the earliest use being in the phrase original sin): from Old French, or from Latin originalis, from origin-, from oriri ‘to rise’.
Check pronunciation:
original