Definition of "originalist"

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, […]

1836, The Monthly Review, January to April inclusive, volume 1, page 182

His language is natural and happily wedded to his vivifying conceptions; and last but not least, he is quite unaffected and far above attempts at imitation, that is, he is a true originalist.

1905 January, The Dickensian, volume 1, number 1, page 38

Opposed to the "originalist" is the type of man "in whom banality exists as a supposed virtue; from whom it would not only seem an impropriety to act, dress, and think differently from other people, but in whom it would be deemed a virtue not even to desire to do so."

1919 January-June, in Current Opinion, volume 66, page 95

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, […]

2001, Jean-Marc Coicaud, Veijo Aulis Heiskanen, editors, The legitimacy of international organizations, page 388

So even if drafters' concrete intentions or meta-intentions are closer to the notion of state consent, the originalist is wrong to assume that this notion underpins human rights treaties.

2010, Treaty interpretation and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: 30 years on, page 271