Beginning

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The point at which something starts ; the source or cause from which something arises ; the initial phase or first part of a process or event
2. The earliest moment something comes into existence ; the underlying reason or origin of something ; the opening segment or stage at the commencement of an occurrence
3. The commencement point of an action or condition ; the root or primary cause behind something ; the beginning portion or earliest period within a sequence or development

Etymology: The noun "beginning" is a plain formation: the verb "begin" with the suffix "-ing", which turns an action into a thing. Its ancestry goes back to a Proto-Germanic verb, "biginnaną", whose present participle "biginnandz" gave rise to the Old English form "onginnende", the source of the modern word. Speakers of the Middle English period then reshaped it into forms like "biginning" and "beginninge", which gradually settled into the spelling we use now. The verb itself is built from prefix and base: "be-" plus "ginnan", an Old English verb meaning to open or to set about. The prefix "be-" is what sharpened the sense toward starting something, so the older root was less about starting and more about opening up a process. The noun "beginning" inherits that sense of a first step, which is why it can mean either the first moment of an event or the source from which something arises.

Synonyms: start, commencement, initiation, inception, opening

Antonyms: end, conclusion, termination, finish, completion