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beginning
2 dictionary results for: Beginnings
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
be·gin·ning       [bi-gin-ing] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.an act or circumstance of entering upon an action or state: the beginning of hostilities.
2.the point of time or space at which anything begins: the beginning of the Christian era; the beginning of the route.
3.the first part: the beginning of the book; the beginning of the month.
4.Often, beginnings. the initial stage or part of anything: the beginnings of science.
5.origin; source; first cause: A misunderstanding about the rent was the beginning of their quarrel.
–adjective
6.just formed: a beginning company.
7.first; opening: the beginning chapters of a book.
8.basic or introductory: beginning Spanish.
9.learning the fundamentals: a beginning swimmer.
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME beginnung, -ing. See begin, -ing1]

—Synonyms 1. initiation, inauguration, inception. 2. start, commencement, outset, onset, arising, emergence.
—Antonyms 1. ending. 2. end.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
be·gin·ning       (bĭ-gĭn'ĭng)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. The act or process of bringing or being brought into being; a start.
  2. The time when something begins or is begun: the beginning of the war.
  3. The place where something begins or is begun: at the beginning of the road.
  4. A source; an origin: What was the beginning of the dispute?
  5. The first part: The front matter is at the beginning of the book.
  6. An early or rudimentary phase. Often used in the plural: the beginnings of human life on this planet.

Synonyms: These nouns denote the initial stage of a developmental process: the beginning of a new era in technology; the birth of generative grammar; the dawn of civilization; the genesis of quantum mechanics; the nascence of classical sculpture; the rise and decline of an ancient city-state.
Antonym: end

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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