Adjacent Words

Commence definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMMENCE, v.i.
1. To begin; to take rise or origin; to have first existence; as, a state of glory to commence after this life; this empire commenced at a late period.
2. To begin to be, as in a change of character.
Let not learning too commence its foe.
3. To take a degree or the first degree in a university or college.
COMMENCE, v.t.
1. To begin; to enter upon; to perform the first act; as, to commence operations.
2. To begin; to originate; to bring; as, to commence a suit, action or process in law.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "We began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's get down to work now" [syn: get down, begin, get, start out, start, set about, set out, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
2: set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life" [syn: begin, lead off, start, commence] [ant: end, terminate]
3: get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: start, start up, embark on, commence]

Merriam Webster's

verb (commenced; commencing) Etymology: Middle English comencen, from Anglo-French comencer, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare, from Latin com- + Late Latin initiare to begin, from Latin, to initiate Date: 14th century transitive verb to enter upon ; begin <commence proceedings> intransitive verb 1. to have or make a beginning ; start <the meeting will commence soon> 2. chiefly British to take a degree at a university Synonyms: see begin • commencer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. & intr. formal begin. Etymology: ME f. OF com(m)encier f. Rmc (as COM-, L initiare INITIATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Commence Com*mence", v. t. To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of. Many a wooer doth commence his suit. --Shak. Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced to study.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Commence Com*mence", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Commenced; p. pr. & vb. n. Commencing.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.] 1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin. Here the anthem doth commence. --Shak. His heaven commences ere the world be past. --Goldsmith. 2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] We commence judges ourselves. --Coleridge. 3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.] I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. --Fuller.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(commences, commencing, commenced) When something commences or you commence it, it begins. (FORMAL) The academic year commences at the beginning of October... They commenced a systematic search... The hunter knelt beside the animal carcass and commenced to skin it. = begin VERB: V, V n/-ing, V to-inf

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Begin, originate, take rise. 2. Begin, open. 3. Take the first step, make a beginning, break ground, break the ice. II. v. a. Begin, institute, inaugurate, originate, open, start, enter upon, set about, set on foot, set in operation.

Moby Thesaurus

arise, begin, blast away, blast off, come into being, dive in, embark, embark on, embark upon, enter, enter upon, establish, fall to, get to, go ahead, head into, inaugurate, initiate, jump off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, originate, pitch in, plunge into, send off, set about, set in, set out, set sail, set to, start, start in, start off, start out, take off, take up, turn to