Begunne

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic past participle of the verb begin, meaning having started or been set in motion
2. Archaic past form of begin, used to describe something that has already been started or initiated
3. Old-fashioned participle of the verb begin, indicating that an action or process has already commenced

Etymology: "Begunne" is an Old English past participle, the form of "beginnan" (to begin) used with a following infinitive or noun, and in Middle English it survived as a spelling variant of "begun." Its ending "-e" was the normal Middle English marker of a plural or a participle, so the form sits in the transition between the Old English and Middle English verb systems. The verb itself goes back to Old English "beginnan," built from the prefix "be-" and "ginnan," meaning to open or to do something, with a root shared by Germanic relatives. The "be-" prefix there does not carry its usual sense of "around" or "make"; the two elements combined into a verb meaning roughly "to set about."

Synonyms: start, commence, initiate

Antonyms: end, finish, conclude