What does "originalist" mean?
One who has, or tends to have, original ideas.
Originalist
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who has, or tends to have, original ideas.
- Grammar: originalist is listed as noun.
- Useful contrasts: parrots, retreads.
- Usage evidence: It seems to us, however, according to the rate at which novels have lately been published, that unless some great reformer or originalist shall, establish a new school, or unless some new principle of concoction be employed, by which the appetite for fresh stimulants may be satisfied, novel readers must soon become insensible to the charms of fiction, […]
How to use "originalist"
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Source and review context
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who has, or tends to have, original ideas.
"It seems to us, however, according to the rate at which novels have lately been published, that unless some great reformer or originalist shall, establish a new school, or unless some new principle of concoction be employed, by which the appetite for fresh stimulants may be satisfied, novel readers must soon become insensible to the charms of fiction, […]"
- 2 One who aims to discover how the writers of a document intended it to be interpreted, and to interpret it in that way.
"This preference for dynamic or evolutionary interpretation over originalist interpretation is reflected in the structure of the Vienna Convention itself; subsequent agreements and understandings between the parties, as well as any relevant rules of international law (obviously including custom, which is necessarily evolutionary) are primary, obligatory sources of treaty interpretation according to Article 31, […]"
- 3 One who aims to discover how the writers of a document intended it to be interpreted, and to interpret it in that way.; Specifically, one who aims to discover how the writers of the Jewish and Christian scriptures intended them to be interpreted, and to interpret them in that way.
"Before explicating the possibility of a non-textualist strategy let me address Philipse's arguments in favour of textualism as appropriate method in theology. Some of these arguments appeal to the religious traditions, and thus suggest that a believer qua believer (rather than qua historian) has to be originalist."
- 4 One who aims to discover how the writers of a document intended it to be interpreted, and to interpret it in that way.; Specifically, one who aims to discover how the writers of the Constitution of the United States intended it to be interpreted, and to interpret it in that way. US
"In any event, this professorial detonation, especially coming as it does from hardline Federalist Society constitutional originalists, has set the cat among the Republican pigeons."
Example
"It seems to us, however, according to the rate at which novels have lately been published, that unless some great reformer or originalist shall, establish a new school, or unless some new principle of concoction be employed, by which the appetite for fresh stimulants may be satisfied, novel readers must soon become insensible to the charms of fiction, […]"
Common questions
How do you use "originalist" in a sentence?
It seems to us, however, according to the rate at which novels have lately been published, that unless some great reformer or originalist shall, establish a new school, or unless some new principle of concoction be employed, by which the appetite for fresh stimulants may be satisfied, novel readers must soon become insensible to the charms of fiction, […]
Etymology
From original + -ist.