\Or"i*gin\, n. [F. origine, L. origo, -iginis, fr. oriri
to rise, become visible; akin to Gr. 'orny`nai to stir up,
rouse, Skr. [.r], and perh. to E. run.]
1. The first existence or beginning of anything; the birth.
         This mixed system of opinion and sentiment had its
         origin in the ancient chivalry.       --Burke.
2. That from which anything primarily proceeds; the fountain;
   the spring; the cause; the occasion.
3. (Anat.) The point of attachment or end of a muscle which
   is fixed during contraction; -- in contradistinction to
   {insertion}.
{Origin of co["o]rdinate axes} (Math.), the point where the
   axes intersect. See Note under {Ordinate}.
Syn: Commencement; rise; source; spring; fountain;
     derivation; cause; root; foundation.
Usage: {Origin}, {Source}. Origin denotes the rise or
       commencement of a thing; source presents itself under
       the image of a fountain flowing forth in a continuous
       stream of influences. The origin of moral evil has
       been much disputed, but no one can doubt that it is
       the source of most of the calamities of our race.
             I think he would have set out just as he did,
             with the origin of ideas -- the proper starting
             point of a grammarian, who is to treat of their
             signs.                            --Tooke.
             Famous Greece, That source of art and cultivated
             thought Which they to Rome, and Romans hither,
             brought.                          --Waller.