3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Begin  \Be*gin"\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Began},  {Begun};  p.  pr  & 
  vb  n.  {Beginning}.]  [AS.  beginnan  (akin  to  OS  biginnan  D. 
  &  G.  beginnen  OHG.  biginnan  Goth.,  du-ginnan,  Sw  begynna 
  Dan.  begynde);  pref.  be-  +  an  assumed  ginnan  [root]31.  See 
  {Gin}  to  begin.] 
  1.  To  have  or  commence  an  independent  or  first  existence;  to 
  take  rise;  to  commence. 
 
  Vast  chain  of  being!  which  from  God  began.  --Pope. 
 
  2.  To  do  the  first  act  or  the  first  part  of  an  action  to 
  enter  upon  or  commence  something  new  as  a  new  form  or 
  state  of  being  or  course  of  action  to  take  the  first 
  step;  to  start  ``Tears  began  to  flow.''  --Dryden. 
 
  When  I  begin,  I  will  also  make  an  end  --1  Sam.  iii. 
  12. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Beginning  \Be*gin"ning\,  n. 
  1.  The  act  of  doing  that  which  begins  anything  commencement 
  of  an  action  state,  or  space  of  time;  entrance  into  being 
  or  upon  a  course;  the  first  act  effort,  or  state  of  a 
  succession  of  acts  or  states. 
 
  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
  earth.  --Gen.  i.  1. 
 
  2.  That  which  begins  or  originates  something  the  first 
  cause  origin;  source. 
 
  I  am  .  .  .  the  beginning  and  the  ending.  --Rev.  i. 
  8. 
 
  3.  That  which  is  begun;  a  rudiment  or  element. 
 
  Mighty  things  from  small  beginnings  grow.  --Dryden. 
 
  4.  Enterprise.  ``To  hinder  our  beginnings.''  --Shak. 
 
  Syn:  Inception;  prelude;  opening;  threshold;  origin;  outset; 
  foundation. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  beginning 
  adj  1:  at  a  first  stage  of  development;  just  becoming  familiar  with 
  the  rudiments  or  skills  or  routines;  "a  beginning 
  bodybuilder";  "a  beginning  reader";  "a  novice  cook" 
  [syn:  {beginning(a)},  {novice(a)}] 
  2:  of  elementary  education;  "a  basal  reader";  "children  in  the 
  beginning  reading  classes";  "the  primary  grades"  [syn:  {abecedarian}, 
  {basal},  {basic},  {beginning(a)},  {primary}] 
  3:  serving  to  begin;  "the  beginning  canto  of  the  poem";  "the 
  first  verse"  [syn:  {beginning(a)},  {first}] 
  n  1:  the  event  consisting  of  the  start  of  something:  "the 
  beginning  of  the  war"  [ant:  {ending}] 
  2:  the  time  at  which  something  begins;  "They  got  an  early 
  start"  [syn:  {commencement},  {first},  {outset},  {start},  {kickoff}, 
  {starting  time},  {offset}]  [ant:  {middle},  {end}] 
  3:  the  first  part  or  section  of  something:  "`It  was  a  dark  and 
  stormy  night'  is  a  hackneyed  beginning  for  a  story"  [ant: 
  {middle},  {end}] 
  4:  the  place  where  something  begins,  where  it  springs  into 
  being  "the  Italian  beginning  of  the  Renaissance"; 
  "Jupiter  was  the  origin  of  the  radiation";  "Pittsburgh  is 
  the  source  of  the  Ohio  River";  "communism's  Russian  root" 
  [syn:  {origin},  {root},  {source}] 
  5:  the  act  of  starting  something  "he  was  responsible  for  the 
  beginning  of  negotiations"  [syn:  {start},  {commencement}] 
  [ant:  {finish}] 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z