adj. & n.
--adj.
1. existing from the beginning; innate.
2 novel; inventive; creative (has an original mind).
3 serving as a pattern; not derivative or imitative; firsthand (in the original Greek; has an original Rembrandt).
--n.
1. an original model, pattern, picture, etc. from which another is copied or translated (kept the copy and destroyed the original).
2 an eccentric or unusual person.
3 a a garment specially designed for a fashion collection. b a copy of such a garment made to order.
Phrases and idioms:
original instrument a musical instrument, or a copy of one, dating from the time the music played on it was composed. original print a print made directly from an artist's own woodcut, etching, etc., and printed under the artist's supervision. original sin the innate depravity of all mankind held to be a consequence of the Fall.
Derivatives:
originally adv.
Etymology: ME f. OF original or L originalis (as ORIGIN)