Begin Definition

bĭ-gĭn

began, beginning, begins, begun

verb

began, beginning, begins, begun

To perform or undergo the first part of an action; start.

I began to e-mail you but got interrupted. The rain began around noon.

American Heritage

To start doing, acting, going, etc.; get under way.

Webster's New World

To cause to start; set about; commence.

Webster's New World

To come into being.

When life began.

American Heritage

To come into being; arise.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

(nonstandard) Beginning; start.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

idiom

to begin with

Webster's New World

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Begin

From Middle English beginnen, from Old English beginnan (“to begin”), from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”) (compare West Frisian begjinne, Low German begünnen, Dutch and German beginnen), from a root *ginnaną also found in Old English onginnan, Old Saxon andginnan and Dutch ontginnen, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ghendhe/o (“to take”) (compare Welsh genni (“to delve, submerge onself”), Latin prehendō, Albanian zë (“to catch”), Ancient Greek [script?] (chandánein, “to hold, contain”)).

From Wiktionary
Middle English biginnen from Old English beginnan

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition