begin
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English beginnen, from Old English beginnan (“to begin”), from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”), from be- + base verb *ginnaną also found in Old English onginnan.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
begin (third-person singular simple present begins, present participle beginning, simple past began, past participle begun)
- (transitive, intransitive) To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
- I began playing the piano at the age of five. Now that everyone is here, we should begin the presentation.
- a. 1705, John Locke, “An Examination of P[ère] Malebranche’s Opinion of Seeing All Things in God”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC, paragraph 41, page 175:
- The Apoſtle begins our Knowledge in the Creatures, which lead us to the Knowledge of God, if we will make uſe of our Reaſon: [...]
- 1712 (date written), Alexander Pope, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, in Imitation of Virgil’s Pollio.”, in The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. […], volume I, London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton, H. Lintot, J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, and S. Draper, published 1751, →OCLC, page 37, lines 1–2:
- Ye Nymphs of Solyma! begin the ſong: / To heav'nly themes ſublimer ſtrains belong.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 48:
- Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
- 2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29:
- Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia.
- (intransitive) To be in the first stage of some situation
- The program begins at 9 o'clock on the dot. I rushed to get to class on time, but the lesson had already begun.
- (intransitive) To come into existence.
- 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
- Vast chain of being! which from God began.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Noun[edit]
begin (plural begins)
References[edit]
- “begin”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “begin”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle Dutch begin, from Old Dutch *bigin, *bigen, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaz (“beginning”), from Proto-Germanic *biginniną (“to begin”). Compare Old Dutch anagen, anagenni (“beginning”).
Noun[edit]
begin n (uncountable, diminutive beginnetje n)
Synonyms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Negerhollands: begin
Etymology 2[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb[edit]
begin
- inflection of beginnen:
Anagrams[edit]
Middle Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun[edit]
begin n
Inflection[edit]
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “beghin (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “begin”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Volapük[edit]
Noun[edit]
begin (nominative plural begins)
Declension[edit]
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪn
- Rhymes:English/ɪn/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nonstandard terms
- English class 3 strong verbs
- English irregular verbs
- English raising verbs
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪn
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪn/2 syllables
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch uncountable nouns
- Dutch neuter nouns
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- Middle Dutch lemmas
- Middle Dutch nouns
- Middle Dutch neuter nouns
- Volapük lemmas
- Volapük nouns