Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To bring into being; create or start.
  • intransitive verb To come into being; start: synonym: stem.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To give rise or origin to; supply or constitute the beginning or commencement of; initiate; set going; bring to pass; bring into existence; occasion; cause; create, artistically or intellectually; produce; invent.
  • To designate or describe as taking (its) beginning; derive; deduce.
  • To arise; take (its) rise; find a starting-point or source; begin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To take first existence; to have origin or beginning; to begin to exist or act.
  • transitive verb To give an origin or beginning to; to cause to be; to bring into existence; to produce as new.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb bring into being
  • verb begin a trip at a certain point, as of a plane, train, bus, etc.
  • verb come into existence; take on form or shape

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From (the participle stem of) Late Latin *originare (“to begin, give rise to”), from Latin orīgō ("origin"). Compare origin.

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