originalism

noun

orig·​i·​nal·​ism ə-ˈri-jə-nə-ˌli-zəm 

-ˈrij-nə-

US law

: a legal philosophy that the words in documents and especially the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as they were understood at the time they were written

Some judges believe the best way to interpret the Constitution … lies in an approach called originalism. The judges who follow this approach look to history to discover what those who wrote the Constitution most likely thought about the content and scope of a constitutional phrase, and they interpret the phrase accordingly.

—Stephen Breyer

The main point of originalism, which has driven conservative legal theory for a generation, is that the Constitution does not evolve.

—Garrett Epps

compare textualism

originalist

ə-ˈri-jə-nə-list 

-ˈrij-nə-

adjective

an originalist judge

But White does not usually subscribe to the originalist school of interpretation which sacralizes the Founding Fathers and the text of the Constitution as the fount of wisdom.

—Rhonda Copelon

originalist noun

plural originalists

Originalists attempt to discern the original meaning of a legal document—most frequently the Constitution.

—Marc O. DeGirolami

Examples of originalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dennie has no truck with those liberals, such as Justice Jackson, who have sought to reclaim originalism from conservatives. —Kenneth W. MacK, Washington Post, 19 July 2024

There is in our day no consolidated alternative to originalism. —Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024

Dennie isn’t the first to note this tension between originalism and the group identities of those who were excluded from the original compact. —Kenneth W. MacK, Washington Post, 19 July 2024

Now’s the time for risks French: What happened to the originalism of the Supreme Court originalists? —David French, The Mercury News, 9 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

original entry 2 + -ism

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above