Suppose an idea or an artistic work A is derived from another idea or work B. We would call A the "derivative" or the "derived". What would we call B?
I looked for antonyms of derived on thesaurus.com * and couldn't find any.
* - although I'm really looking more for the converse of derivative rather than the opposite of it.
Consider underlying
In copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work (the underlying work). The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent in form from the first.
I think the term you're looking for is original (not the adjective, but the noun):
“Original” quite simply means a unique one-off piece or small edition hand-pulled print from the artists own hand i.e an oil, acrylic, watercolor painting, etching or a drawing (i.e. not a machine driven process like a giclee).
When an artist creates a unique artwork, that is an original. That original may be a painting of some kind, or a sculpture, or a performance work, or one of many other kinds of media.
Usage:
Is that an original Picasso? That must be worth millions.
Possible response to demonstrate the contrast between the two terms:
No, it's merely a derivative. You can tell by the careless brushstrokes here.
Note that the terms derived (or, alternatively, derivative) and original (work) are also used in the legal context of copyright:
Most countries' legal systems seek to protect both original and derivative works. They grant authors the right to impede or otherwise control their integrity and the author's commercial interests. Derivative works and their authors benefit in turn from the full protection of copyright without prejudicing the rights of the original work's author.
The derivative is derived from a source.
ODO:
derivative
NOUN
[1] Something which is based on another source.‘He related the ornament, as we do today to the art of such insular manuscripts as the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow; indeed, he saw Pictish art as derivative from these sources.’
source
NOUN
[1] A place, person, or thing from which something originates or can be obtained.‘mackerel is a good source of fish oil’
Inspiration, A is inspired by B, or B was an inspiration for A. According to Cambridge Dictionary:
someone or something that gives you ideas for doing something
Attribution: definition of “inspiration” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press
Integrated/Integral
The literal opposite to a derivative is an integral in math and the same is true in the English language.
The OED defines "derived" as:
Drawn, obtained, descended, or deduced from a source.
While "integrated" is:
Combined into a whole; united; undivided.
I don't think it's the word you're looking for, as it's not a name for B in your example, but it's worth noting that this would be the antonym of derived/derivative.
I'd go with progenitor:
a : an ancestor in the direct line : forefather
b : a biologically ancestral form
Usage:
His work was thought to be the progenitor of all modern works of art.
Depending on the context, you could also use genesis:
the origin or coming into being of something
Usage:
Aasimov's "I, Robot" was the genesis for modern AI sci-fi
Although, this also carries a bit of connotation of continued works meaning it is probably less appropriate when only A and B exist, but would work great when A begat B begat C begat D and etc.
Perhaps we should go back to the meaning of derivation, or its derivation (Romance de-ripare or de-rivare, ultimately Latin de + rivus, "going down the river").
Asking for an antonym is asking: "where does the object come from"? From all these answers, it is obvious that there could be as many legimate antonyms for "derived" or "derivative" as there are different possible starting points in a derivation processes (origin, underlying, original, template, mould, integral, etc.).
If we want a general, blanket concept, we might have to look in the direction... of upstream (up + stream):
Being or moving closer to the source of a stream; in the direction opposite to that of the current: upstream traffic; an upstream dam (American Heritage)
It could be the upstream, to coin a term.
Note that if we go all the way back to the origin point of a stream, the fountainhead is the source (in an etymological sense, from Latin surgere "to spring").
The source point (for the stream) or the starting point ("a place to start", Merriam-Webster) might also answer the question, though not as expressive as all the specialized alternatives already proposed. Yet the a source point might no be general enough: an object might be derived from several others. In which case you might have to deal with components, elements, atoms, raw materials etc. At which point we might get into mathematical or technical jargon, probably too abstract for daily conversation (a source set)?
The inspiration; The original piece which emerged by it's predecessor's vision.
parent (ODOL)
noun
1.3 A source or origin of a smaller or less important part. as modifier ‘some of the whetstones have been transported up to 400 km from the parent rock’
1.2 An animal or plant from which new ones are derived. ‘stems will root down, creating a new crown near the parent’
cf. parent class vs. derived class
On could never guess at the meaning of that word because it is underived from any known language from which the English language is related. That seems to be the simplest way to express that thought with just one word.
The OP states in a comment to one of the answers that the answer should imply the existence of one or more pieces of derivative work.
One idiom that necessarily implies the existence of derivatives or knockoffs is "the real McCoy:"
"The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy".
The above definition shows that there are other ways of saying this, such as "the genuine article".
(EDIT) I missed the tag "single-word-requests" until I went back and looked so let me know if I need to get rid of this answer.
