# original (first)

that first thing that began and is the source of other things

- Computed level: L5 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: common  ·  Arena: Lexicon

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [source](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-source.origin), [first](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-first.order), [change](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-change.process)

**Through:** The source began first and is the source of other things

**Novel properties:**
- firstness
- source-uniqueness

## Examples
- The Big Bang initiated spacetime and all known physical laws 13.8 billion years ago. *(physics)*
- The 1972 Unix Time began counting seconds from January 1, 1970, as the reference point for most digital systems. *(computing)*
- The Magna Carta, sealed in 1215, became the foundational document for constitutional law in England. *(institutions)*

## Used by
- [discount](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-discount.economic) (L9)
- [the compression claim](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-compression-claim.assertion) (L12)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-original.first*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-original.first.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*