From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Begin
n 1: Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister
of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then
the president of Egypt) (1913-1992) [syn: Begin,
Menachem Begin]
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: have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative
sense; "The DMZ begins right over the hill"; "The second
movement begins after the Allegro"; "Prices for these homes
start at $250,000" [syn: begin, start] [ant: cease,
end, finish, stop, terminate]
3: 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]
4: begin to speak or say; "Now listen, friends," he began
5: be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or
start, come first in a series; "The number `one' begins the
sequence"; "A terrible murder begins the novel"; "The
convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"
6: have a beginning, of a temporal event; "WW II began in 1939
when Hitler marched into Poland"; "The company's Asia tour
begins next month"
7: have a beginning characterized in some specified way; "The
novel begins with a murder"; "My property begins with the
three maple trees"; "Her day begins with a workout"; "The
semester begins with a convocation ceremony" [syn: begin,
start]
8: begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or
inherent function of the direct object; "begin a cigar"; "She
started the soup while it was still hot"; "We started physics
in 10th grade" [syn: begin, start]
9: achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in
the negative; "This economic measure doesn't even begin to
deal with the problem of inflation"; "You cannot even begin
to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war"
10: begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language; "She
began Russian at an early age"; "We started French in fourth
grade"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Begin \Be*gin"\, n.
Beginning. [Poetic & Obs.] --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
[1913 Webster]
Vast chain of being! which from God began. --Pope.
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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.
[1913 Webster]
When I begin, I will also make an end. --1 Sam. iii.
12.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Begin \Be*gin"\, v. t.
1. To enter on; to commence.
[1913 Webster]
Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song. --Pope.
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2. To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a
beginning of.
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The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures,
which leads us to the knowledge of God. --Locke.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: To commence; originate; set about; start.
[1913 Webster]