# begin

Pronunciation: say "bi-GIN" /bɪˈɡɪn/

## Verb

1. To start doing something, or to start happening or existing.
   - Simple: To start something, or to take the first step in doing it.
   - _Crews begin construction on the new bridge next spring._
   - _He began his career as a junior clerk in a small office._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The point or moment at which something starts; its starting point.

## Origin

Begin goes back to Proto-Germanic *biginnaną ("to begin"), which became Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, then Old English beginnan ("to begin") and Middle English beginnen. It was built from be- and a base verb *ginnaną, the same verb seen in Old English onginnan.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/begin (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).