Hypertext Webster Gateway: "commence"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Commence \Com*mence"\, v. t.
To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of.

Many a wooer doth commence his suit. --Shak.

Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal
noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after
commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced
to study.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Commence \Com*mence"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Commenced}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Commencing}.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L.
com- + initiare to begin. See {Initiate}.]
1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to
begin.

Here the anthem doth commence. --Shak.

His heaven commences ere the world be past.
--Goldsmith.

2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic]

We commence judges ourselves. --Coleridge.

3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.]

I question whether the formality of commencing was
used in that age. --Fuller.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

commence
v 1: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action: "We
began working at dawn"; "Who will start?" "Get working
as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to
arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day" [syn: {begin},
{get}, {start out}, {start}, {set about}, {set out}]
[ant: {end}]
2: set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in
the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a
new chapter in your life" [syn: {begin}, {lead off}, {start}]
[ant: {end}]
3: get off the ground; "Who started this company?" "We embarked
on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good
breakfast"; "We began the new semester": "The afternoon
session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the
partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: {start}, {start
up}, {embark on}]


Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup

Enter word here:
Exact Approx


dict.stokkie.net
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents; see the Webster Gateway FAQ, and also the Back-end/database links and credits.