/bɪˈɡɪn/, /bəˈɡɪn/, /biˈɡɪn/
OriginFrom Middle English beginnen, from Old English beginnan (“to begin”), from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”), from be- + base verb *ginnaną also found in Old English onginnan.
- ergativeTo start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
“I began playing the piano at the age of five.”
“Now that everyone is here, we should begin the presentation.”
“The program begins at 9 o’clock on the dot.”
- intransitiveTo come into existence.
“Vast chain of being! which from God began.”
- nonstandardBeginning; start.
“In prayer, in the light, I see my kin / I touch my tree, my roots, my begin”
Formsbegins(present, singular, third-person) · beginning(participle, present) · began(past) · begun(participle, past) · begin(infinitive) · begin(first-person, present, singular) · began(first-person, past, singular) · begin(present, second-person, singular) · beginnest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · began(past, second-person, singular) · beganst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · begannest(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · beginneth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · began(past, singular, third-person) · begin(plural, present) · began(past, plural) · begin(present, subjunctive) · began(past, subjunctive) · begin(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past)