Synonyms for origin
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Source
source, root, beginning, cause, derivation, genesis, original, head, well, principle, commencement, onset, foundation, germ, seed, rise, fountain, spring, zero, rootage rare
2. Ancestry
ancestry, parentage, nationality, descent, birth, ancestor, line, bloodline, blood, stock, stemma rare
3. Origination
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
The beginning of something.
trace the origin of something
- n. 2
The source of a river, information, goods, etc.
- n. 3
The point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect.
Related words
- Word family
- original originate origination originator orient
- Phrases
- country of origin time of origin
Forms
- Plural
- origins → sources, roots, beginnings, causes…
Choose the right word
An origin is the point from which something starts or sets out, often involving, and always suggesting causal connection; as, the origin of evil; the origin of a nation, a government, or a family.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- source I have to recognize the source of your quotations.
- zero Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, doesn't it?
- genesis The Genesis creation narrative does not mention fungi.
- derivation Esperanto has an excellent derivation system.
- ancestry She claims she has absolutely no Berber ancestry.
- parentage His parentage was unknown to us.
By length
- 4 letters
- well1, head1, line1, rise1, zero2, root1, seed1, germ1
- 5 letters
- cause1, blood1, stock1, birth1, onset2
- 6 letters
- source1, spring1, cradle2, stemma
- 7 letters
- extract2, genesis3, descent2, rootage
- 8 letters
- original4, fountain2, ancestry3, ancestor3
- 9 letters
- beginning3, principle3, inception3, bloodline2, parentage3
- 10 letters
- foundation3, extraction3, derivation4
- 11 letters
- nationality5, origination5
- 12 letters
- commencement3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (zero2 = 2 syllables).