original

Adjective

• not derived or copied or translated from something else; not an adaptation"
  • the play is original
    
  • he kept the original copy and gave her only a xerox
    
  • the translation misses much of the subtlety of the original French
    

• being or productive of something fresh and unusual; or being as first made or thought of
  • a truly original approach
    
  • with original music
    
  • an original mind
    

• (of e.g. information) not secondhand or by way of something intermediary
  • his work is based on only original, not secondary, sources
    

• preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
  • the original inhabitants of the Americas
    
  • the book still has its original binding
    
  • restored the house to its original condition
    
  • the original performance of the opera
    
  • the original cast
    
  • retracted his original statement
    

Noun

• something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies
  • this painting is a copy of the original
    

• an original creation (i.e., an audio recording) from which copies can be made

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  archetype , pilot , master , master copy