Adjacent Words

Beginning definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BEGIN'NING, ppr. First entering upon; commencing; giving rise or original; taking rise or origin.
BEGIN'NING, n. The first cause; origin.
I am the beginning and the ending. Revelation 1.
1. That which is first; the first state; commencement; entrance into being.
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1.
3. The rudiments, first ground or materials.
Mighty things from small beginnings grow

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse" [syn: beginning, first] n
1: the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war" [ant: conclusion, ending, finish]
2: the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her" [syn: beginning, commencement, first, outset, get-go, start, kickoff, starting time, showtime, offset] [ant: end, ending, middle]
3: the first part or section of something; "`It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story" [ant: end, middle]
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: beginning, origin, root, rootage, source]
5: the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations" [syn: beginning, start, commencement] [ant: finish, finishing]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 12th century 1. the point at which something begins ; start 2. the first part 3. origin, source 4. a rudimentary stage or early period — usually used in plural II. adjective Date: 1576 1. just starting out <a beginning writer> 2. a. being first or the first part <the beginning chapters> b. introductory <beginning chemistry>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the time or place at which anything begins. 2 a source or origin. 3 the first part. Phrases and idioms: the beginning of the end the first clear sign of a final result.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(beginnings) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The beginning of an event or process is the first part of it. This was also the beginning of her recording career... Think of this as a new beginning. = start ? end N-COUNT: usu sing 2. The beginnings of something are the signs or events which form the first part of it. The discussions were the beginnings of a dialogue with Moscow. N-PLURAL: usu the N, oft N of n 3. The beginning of a period of time is the time at which it starts. The wedding will be at the beginning of March. ? end N-SING: the N 4. The beginning of a piece of written material is the first words or sentences of it. ...the question which was raised at the beginning of this chapter. ? end N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n 5. If you talk about the beginnings of a person, company, or group, you are referring to their backgrounds or origins. His views come from his own humble beginnings. N-PLURAL: usu with supp

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-gin'-ing (re'-shith; arche): The natural meaning of the word is with reference to time. The primitive Greek root means "to be long," "to draw out." Thus, it is used to refer to some point of time long drawn out, or long past (Ge 1:1). It is used also to express the inauguration of a particular event (Ex 12:2). The principal interest in the word centers in the use of it in Joh 1:1. It must be interpreted here by that which follows in the statement as to the relation of the Logos to the Eternal God and the use of the word "was." It is true that the word arche cannot be separated from the idea of time, but when time began He already was, and therefore He was from eternity.

See TIME; ETERNITY.

Figurative: in a figurative sense it is used of that which is most excellent, the chief part (Pr 1:7); of the most eminent person (Col 1:18); the author (Re 3:14).

Jacob W. Kapp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Commencement, outset, opening, start, initiation, inauguration, inception, rise, arising, emergence. 2. Origin, source, rise.

Moby Thesaurus

abecedarian, aboriginal, alpha, anlage, antenatal, anticipation, appearance, authorship, autochthonous, babyhood, basal, beginnings, birth, budding, childhood, coinage, commencement, conception, concoction, contrivance, contriving, cradle, creation, creative, creative effort, dawn, dawning, day, derivation, devising, earliness, early hour, early stage, elemental, elementary, embryonic, emergence, fabrication, fetal, first crack, first stage, foresight, formative, foundational, freshman year, fundamental, generation, genesis, gestatory, grass roots, ground floor, hatching, head, head start, improvisation, in embryo, in its infancy, in the bud, inaugural, inception, inceptive, inchoate, inchoation, inchoative, incipience, incipiency, incipient, incunabula, incunabular, infancy, infant, infantile, initial, initiative, initiatory, introductory, invention, inventive, making do, mintage, nascence, nascency, nascent, natal, nativity, onset, opening, origin, original, origination, outset, outstart, parturient, parturition, postnatal, pregnancy, pregnant, prenatal, prevenience, prevision, primal, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, procreative, prologue, provenience, radical, radix, readiness, rise, root, rudiment, rudimental, rudimentary, running start, setout, source, spring, sprout, start, stem, stock, taproot, time to spare, ur, very beginning, youth