Dictionary

originalism en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree English original Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English originalism From original + -ism.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) The view that a text should be interpreted according to the intent of its original authors.
   • I've known Badalamenti since then, and have chatted with him over the years. Last fall, I spoke at the originalism conference he organized, which hosted the entire Florida Supreme Court, several members of the Eleventh Circuit, and scholars from across the ideological spectrum. I include these facts to show the high regard that Badalamenti is held in by his community. 2025 June 22, Josh Blackman, “The New York Times Launches An Unfair Attack On Judge Badalamenti”, in Reason:
   • One of the points that you’ve made in the past is that when originalism was first taking hold as a popular theory, one of the reasons for its popularity was that it was seen as offering a kind of restraint on justices. 2025 October 16, Ross Douthat, “Amy Coney Barrett Is Looking Beyond the Trump Era”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

nonoriginalism

Relateds

literalism · textualism · constructionism · originalist