1. (

• beginning

) the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war" ;

2. (

• beginning ,
• commencement ,
• first ,
• outset ,
• get-go ,
• start ,
• kickoff ,
• starting_time ,
• showtime ,
• offset

) the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her" ;

3. (

• beginning

) the first part or section of something; "`It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story" ;

4. (

• beginning ,
• origin ,
• root ,
• rootage ,
• source

) the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root" ;

5. (

• beginning ,
• start ,
• commencement

) the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations" ;

1. (

• beginning ,
• first ,

) serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse" ;