Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - origin

 noun  Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Latin ~-, origo, from oriri to rise — more at orient  Date: 15th century  1. ancestry, parentage  2.  a. rise, beginning, or derivation from a source  b. the point at which something begins or rises or from which it derives the ~ of the custom; also something that creates, causes, or gives rise to another a spring is the ~ of the brook  3. the more fixed, central, or larger attachment of a muscle  4. the intersection of coordinate axes Synonyms:  ~, source, inception, root mean the point at which something begins its course or existence. ~ applies to the things or persons from which something is ultimately derived and often to the causes operating before the thing itself comes into being an investigation into the ~ of baseball. source applies more often to the point where something springs into being the source of the Nile the source of recurrent trouble. inception stresses the beginning of something without implying causes the business has been a success since its inception. root suggests a first, ultimate, or fundamental source often not easily discerned the real root of the violence.