- the doctrine that a legal document or statute should be interpreted by determining its original meaning, or how it would have been understood by informed readers when it was first written.
- the doctrine that a legal document or statute should be interpreted according to the actual or supposed intent of the author or authors, taking into consideration the historical context.
- either of these doctrines in reference to legal interpretations of a constitution, especially the U.S. Constitution: Judges who disagree with judicial activism, such as Justice Antonin Scalia, tend to embrace originalism.
