originate
v.to start or be created in a specific place or situation. You use this to talk about where an idea, a product, or a custom first began.
v.to have a specified beginning or to arise from a particular source. Often used to trace the historical or geographical roots of a concept, object, or biological entity.
“Many English words originate from Latin.”
“The tradition of decorating trees for the holidays is thought to originate from 16th-century Germany.”
“While the virus was first identified in the capital, researchers believe it may actually originate from a remote rural province where human-animal contact is more frequent.”
The verb is often used with the preposition 'in' or 'from'. It can be used intransitively or transitively, though the intransitive use is more common in general writing.
Learners often use 'originate' in the passive voice, but it is typically used in the active voice to describe where something began.
Usage originate from
“BBC Verify has also analysed satellite imagery suggesting the oil spill originated from an attack on a vessel in Omani waters on 3 August.”
“They often originate near sunspots, which are darker, cooler spots on the Sun where magnetic fields are particularly strong.”
Common in science writing
From Medieval Latin orīginātus, perfect passive participle of orīginō (“to begin, give rise to”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from orīgō (orīgin- in compounds) + -ō. Compare Italian originare and Spanish originar.
From Medieval Latin orīginātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. By surface analysis, origin + -ate.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.