What does 元来 mean?
元来 is a Japanese adverb meaning “originally, naturally” in English. It can also be translated as “in the first place” depending on context. It is written as 元来 in kanji, がんらい in hiragana, and ganrai in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N1 vocabulary.
Example sentence
元来フットボールとは、ポロのように馬に乗って行われる競技とは違って、足で、ボールを使って行われる競技のことでした。
Football originally meant "a game played with a ball on foot" - unlike a game played on horseback, such as polo.