original

adjective

• 1present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest:the original owner of the house the plasterwork is probably original

• 2created personally by a particular artist, writer, musician, etc.; not a copy:original Rembrandts

• 3not dependent on other people’s ideas; inventive or novel:a subtle and original thinker

noun

• 1the earliest form of something, from which copies may be made:the portrait may be a copy of the original one set of originals and four photocopies
• (the original) the language in which something was first written:the study of Russian texts in the original
• (the original of) a person or place on which a character or location in a literary work is based:the house is reputed to be the original of Mansfield Park
• a book or recording that has not been previously made available in a different form:paperback originals
• a garment made to order from a design specially prepared for a fashion collection: the designer has donated one of her amazing originals, a frothy pink evening dress

• 2an eccentric or unusual person:he was one of the true originals