Difference between "original" and "genuine" [closed]

I often buy something in an online shop. I noticed some descriptions say an item is original or genuine. What is the difference?

For example, say there's an Apple USB cable, and another, fake Apple USB cable. So should I say the first one is "original Apple cable" or "genuine Apple cable"? Which is better, which is more common?

Solution 1:

Genuine can mean

not fake or counterfeit; original; real; authentic

Original can mean

[USUALLY BEFORE NOUN] not copied from something else

In that sense, both words are often used to describe a product that is authentic and comes from the entity that created the item in the first instance. However there are different uses of both terms that one or the other more appropriate in some circumstances.

Original can also mean

[ONLY BEFORE NOUN] existing at the beginning of a period or process, before any changes have been made

Something can be a version of a product that is not identical to the first version, but is still authorized by the person or entity that creates or controls the rights to the first version. You can have genuine team jerseys (licensed by the team) that are not identical to the original team jerseys worn by players.

Similarly, products evolve. I may have an iPod from 2001. I just gave my wife a new iPod, manufactured in 2013. Mine is original and genuine. Hers is genuine, but not original.

Solution 2:

Original means "first." Genuine means "real" or "not fake."

So the Apple cable could be genuine but not original, if Apple really made it, but it isn't the actual cable the item first shipped with.