originalism

noun

orig·​i·​nal·​ism ə-ˈri-jə-nə-ˌli-zəm 

-ˈrij-nə-

US law

: a legal philosophy that the words in documents and especially the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as they were understood at the time they were written

Some judges believe the best way to interpret the Constitution … lies in an approach called originalism. The judges who follow this approach look to history to discover what those who wrote the Constitution most likely thought about the content and scope of a constitutional phrase, and they interpret the phrase accordingly.

—Stephen Breyer

The main point of originalism, which has driven conservative legal theory for a generation, is that the Constitution does not evolve.

—Garrett Epps

compare textualism

originalist

ə-ˈri-jə-nə-list 

-ˈrij-nə-

adjective

an originalist judge

But White does not usually subscribe to the originalist school of interpretation which sacralizes the Founding Fathers and the text of the Constitution as the fount of wisdom.

—Rhonda Copelon

originalist noun

plural originalists

Originalists attempt to discern the original meaning of a legal document—most frequently the Constitution.

—Marc O. DeGirolami

Examples of originalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Textualism is primarily a way of interpreting statutes, and originalism is a way of interpreting the Constitution. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Sunstein’s pragmatic, consequentialist critique of originalism is no more persuasive. —Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

One of these arguments holds that originalism is essential to a real interpretation of any text. —Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

State decisions to bar Donald Trump from the ballot will force the justices to weigh strict originalism against the prospect of political chaos. —Jeffrey Rosen, WSJ, 5 Jan. 2024

But, in fact, Gorsuch’s opinion can be said to have used the textualist method—derived from the plain language of the statute—rather than originalism. —The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022

The danger to constitutional rights is not originalism but what preceded it and is still advocated by the current Court’s most virulent critics. —Christian Schneider, National Review, 28 Sep. 2023

Nowhere is Gorsuch’s approach to originalism in Indian-law cases on better display than in Thursday’s ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 15 June 2023

Today originalism—the idea that constitutional meaning should be considered as being fixed at the time of enactment—is the dominant judicial philosophy, thanks in part to decades of persuasive arguments put forward by conservative and libertarian lawyers and scholars. —Tal Fortgang, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

original entry 2 + -ism

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above