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

The company’s leadership had originally conceived Insider as a premium add-on to the Economist’s subscription, but decided that the demand wasn’t great enough to sustain the video series as its own offering, and folded it into the existing magazine subscription. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Feb. 2026

Trump originally accused the bank of trade libel and violating state and federal unfair and deceptive trade practices. —Ken Sweet, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

His role, Reggie Porter Montgomery, was originally played by the late Chadwick Boseman — his future Black Panther costar — who was fired after just one week on set for criticizing Reggie's character arc for playing into racial stereotypes. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026

American was originally scheduled to operate three flights from DFW Airport to Puerto Vallarta International Airport and four flights back, according to scheduling data from Diio by Cirium. —Jordan Parker aviation, Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb. 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