Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “original” come from?

original (Old French) comes from Latin orīginālis, from Latin orīgō, from Latin -igo, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.

Ancestry of “original”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinorīginālis—
2Latinorīgō—
3Latin-igoEnlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to...
4Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “original”

  • original
  • originally
  • originality
  • unoriginal
  • originalism
  • originalist
  • unoriginality
  • nonoriginalist
  • nonoriginal
  • unoriginally
  • originalness
  • coöriginal
  • originalistic
  • originalistically
  • originalité
  • originalement
  • original
  • Originalzustand
  • original
  • original
  • originalitate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →