Main entry: start, commencement, beginning
Definition: the act of starting something
Usage: he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations
Main entry: beginning
Definition: the first part or section of something
Usage: `It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story
Main entry: beginning
Definition: the event consisting of the start of something
Usage: the beginning of the war
Main entry: root, rootage, source, beginning, origin
Definition: the place where something begins, where it springs into being
Usage: the Italian beginning of the Renaissance; Jupiter was the origin of the radiation; Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River; communism's Russian root
Main entry: start, starting time, showtime, beginning, get-go, outset, offset, commencement, kickoff, first
Definition: the time at which something is supposed to begin
Usage: they got an early start; she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her
Definition: serving to begin
Usage: the beginning canto of the poem; the first verse