7 results for: commence

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

com·mence

Audio Help [kuh-mens] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object), -menced, -menc·ing.

to begin; start.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME commencen < AF, MF comencer < VL *cominitiāre, equiv. to L com- com- + initiāre to begin; see initiate

]

—Related forms

com·mence·a·ble, adjective

com·menc·er, noun

—Synonyms originate, inaugurate. See begin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
commence

To learn more about commence visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

com·mence Audio Help   (kə-měns') Pronunciation Key
v.   com·menced, com·menc·ing, com·menc·es

v.   tr.
To begin; start.

v.   intr.
To enter upon or have a beginning; start. See Synonyms at begin.

[Middle English commencen, from Old French comencier, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre : Latin com-, intensive pref.; see com- + Late Latin initiāre, to begin (from Latin initium, beginning; see ei- in Indo-European roots).]

com·menc'er n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

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

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
commence

1314, from O.Fr. comencier, from V.L. *cominitiare, orig. "to initiate as priest, consecrate," from L. com- "together" + initiare "to initiate." The academic sense of commencement "action of taking a full degree," is in M.E.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

commence
verb
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] [ant: end]
2.	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] [ant: end]
3.	get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: start]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
commence [kəˈmens] verb

to begin
Example: the church service commenced with a hymn

Arabic:	يَشْرَعُ في، يَبْدأُ
Chinese (Simplified):	开始
Chinese (Traditional):	開始
Czech:	zahájit
Danish:	begynde
Dutch:	aanvangen
Estonian:	algama
Finnish:	alkaa
French:	commencer
German:	beginnen
Greek:	αρχίζω
Hungarian:	(el)kezd(ődik)
Icelandic:	byrja, hefja
Indonesian:	memulai
Italian:	cominciare

Japanese:	始まる
Korean:	시작되다; 시작하다
Latvian:	sākt; sākties
Lithuanian:	prasidėti
Norwegian:	begynne, sette i gang
Polish:	rozpoczynać się
Portuguese (Brazil):	começar
Portuguese (Portugal):	começar
Romanian:	a începe
Russian:	начинать(ся)
Slovak:	začínať (sa)
Slovenian:	začeti (se)
Spanish:	comenzar, empezar
Swedish:	börja
Turkish:	başlamak

See also: commencement

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Commence

Com*mence"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Commenced; p. pr. & vb. n. Commencing.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]

1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin.

Here the anthem doth commence. --Shak.

His heaven commences ere the world be past. --Goldsmith.

2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic]

We commence judges ourselves. --Coleridge.

3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.]

I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. --Fuller.

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web