Etymograph

English

origin

Origin comes from Latin orīgō ‘beginning, source, birth, origin’, from orior ‘to rise’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *oriōr.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōr1‘to rise’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorior2‘to rise’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgō2‘beginning’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400origine2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500origine2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1902origin2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin orior
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English origin
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, William James, Lecture I: “It is clear that the origin of the truth…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōrWiktionary, Latin orior‘to rise’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoriorWiktionary, English origin‘to rise’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgōWiktionary, English origin‘beginning’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400origineWiktionary, English origin
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500origineWiktionary, English origin
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1902originWiktionary, English origin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, William James, Lecture I: “It is clear that the origin of the truth…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- ‘to stir, rise’

run, ride, earn, orient, irritable, irritate, ornithology, erne, orogeny, 16 more

through Latin orior ‘to rise’

abortion, abort, aborigines, orienteering, 7 more

through Latin orīgō ‘beginning, source, birth, origin’

aborigine, 6 more

Today it means

noun The beginning of something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “origin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin orior. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *oriōr / origin

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