originally

adverb

orig·​i·​nal·​ly ə-ˈri-jə-nᵊl-ē 

-ˈrij-nə-lē, 

-ˈri-jən-

1

archaic : by origin or derivation : inherently

2

: in the beginning : in the first place : initially

3

: in a fresh or original manner

Synonyms of originally

• initially
• primarily

Examples of originally in a Sentence

That van originally belonged to us.

The building was originally a school.

They originally planned to fix their old car, but they decided to buy a new one instead.

Originally, the word had a very different meaning from its current meaning.

a New Yorker who is originally from Mexico

She has shown an ability to think originally about ways to improve the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

President Min Aung Hlaing, the former army chief who had originally seized power in 2021 from Suu Kyi’s civilian government, has been trying to win political legitimacy since the takeover and resume relations with ASEAN. — ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026

The dog was originally given to her mother, the Duchess of Kent, though Dash and Queen Victoria developed a tight bond. — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026

Holobetz, originally acquired as a player to be named later in the Quinn Priester trade, has emerged as a nice pickup with 93 strikeouts in 79 innings at Double-A and one run allowed in 9 2/3 innings over his first two Triple-A outings. — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 9 Aug. 2026

Brockton Police said that the car had originally hit a utility pole before striking a boulder and then a fence at a nearby home. — Riley Rourke, CBS News, 8 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

originally

adverb

orig·​i·​nal·​ly ə-ˈrij-ən-ᵊl-ē 

-nəl-ē

1

: in the beginning : in the first place

2

: in an original manner