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o·rig·i·nate (ə-rĭjə-nāt′)
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v. o·rig·i·nat·ed, o·rig·i·nat·ing, o·rig·i·nates
v.tr.
To bring into being; create or start: originated the practice of monthly reports.
v.intr.
To come into being; start: an invention that originated in China. See Synonyms at stem1.
o·rig′i·nation n.
o·rigi·na′tive adj.
o·rigi·na′tive·ly adv.
o·rigi·na′tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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