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Origin and history of begin

begin(v.)

Old English beginnan "to attempt, undertake," a rare word beside the more usual form onginnan (class III strong verb; past tense ongann, past participle ongunnen); from be- + West Germanic *ginnan, which is of obscure etymology and found only in compounds, perhaps "to open, open up" (compare Old High German in-ginnan "to cut open, open up," also "begin, undertake"), with sense evolution from "open" to "begin." Cognates elsewhere in Germanic include Old Frisian biginna "to begin," Middle Dutch beghinnen, Old High German beginnan, German beginnen, Old Frisian bijenna "to begin," Gothic duginnan.

From late 12c. as "originate, be the originator of;" from c. 1200 as "take the first step in, start to deal with." Intransitive sense "come into existence" is from mid-13c.

Entries linking to begin

began(v.)

past tense of begin.

beginner(n.)

early 14c., "founder, originator," agent noun from begin. The meaning "novice" is from late 15c. Beginner's luck is by 1849, originally in gambling.

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gin
type of distilled drinking alcohol, 1714, shortening of geneva, altered (by influence of the name of the Swiss city, with which it has no connection) from Dutch genever "gin," literally "juniper" (because the alcohol was flavored with its berries), from Old French genevre "the pl
end
Old English ende "end, conclusion, boundary, district, species, class," from Proto-Germanic *andiaz (source also of Old Frisian enda, Old Dutch ende, Dutch einde, Old Norse endir "end;" Old High German enti "top, forehead, end," German Ende, Gothic andeis "end"), originally "the
commence
c. 1300, "to start, initiate, cause to begin to be" (transitive), from Old French comencier "to begin, to start" (10c., Modern...initiate," from initium "a beginning," literally "a going in," noun use of neuter past participle of inire "to go into, begin...From late 14c. in intransitive sense "come into existence, begin to be," also "enter into a new state."...
set forth
(intrans.), "express openly, present to view or consideration, make fully known;" c. 1400 as "leave, begin a journey" (set...The notion of set involved in it is "proceed in a specified direction," hence begin to move" (attested from late Old English...Intransitive sense of "go, advance, begin to march" is from mid-14c....
initiate
c. 1600, "introduce to some practice or system," also "begin, set going," from Late Latin initiatus, past participle of initiare..."to begin, originate," in classical Latin only in the sense "to instruct in mysteries or sacred knowledge."...initia "constituent parts; sacred mysteries," a noun use of the neuter past participle of inire "to go into, enter upon, begin...
convalesce
after sickness, make progress toward the recovery of health," late 15c., from Latin convalescere "thrive, regain health, begin...to grow strong or well," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + valescere "to begin...
mouth
Old English muþ "oral opening of an animal or human; opening of anything, door, gate," from Proto-Germanic *muntha- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian muth, Old Norse munnr, Danish mund, Middle Dutch mont, Dutch mond, Old High German mund, German Mund, Gothic munþs "mouth"),
attain
c. 1300, "succeed in reaching, come so near as to touch," from ataign-, stem of Old French ataindre "to come up to, reach, attain, endeavor, strive" (11c., Modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin *attangere, corresponding to Latin attingere "to touch; arrive at," from ad "to"
speak
Middle English speken, from Old English specan, variant of sprecan "to utter words articulately without singing, have or use the power of speech; make a speech; hold discourse" with others (class V strong verb; past tense spræc, past participle sprecen), from Proto-Germanic *spre

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