n. 1. The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states. [ 1913 Webster ]
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin; source. [ 1913 Webster ]
I am . . . the beginning and the ending. Rev. i. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]
3. That which is begun; a rudiment or element. [ 1913 Webster ]
Mighty things from small beginnings grow. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
4. Enterprise. “To hinder our beginnings.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Syn. -- Inception; prelude; opening; threshold; origin; outset; foundation. [ 1913 Webster ]