Begin
    n 1: Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister
         of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then
         the president of Egypt) (1913-1992) [syn: Begin,
         Menachem Begin]
    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"; "Let's
         get down to work now" [syn: get down, begin, get,
         start out, start, set about, set out, commence]
         [ant: end, terminate]
    2: have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative
       sense; "The DMZ begins right over the hill"; "The second
       movement begins after the Allegro"; "Prices for these homes
       start at $250,000" [syn: begin, start] [ant: cease,
       end, finish, stop, terminate]
    3: 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,
       commence] [ant: end, terminate]
    4: begin to speak or say; "Now listen, friends," he began
    5: be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or
       start, come first in a series; "The number `one' begins the
       sequence"; "A terrible murder begins the novel"; "The
       convocation ceremony officially begins the semester"
    6: have a beginning, of a temporal event; "WW II began in 1939
       when Hitler marched into Poland"; "The company's Asia tour
       begins next month"
    7: have a beginning characterized in some specified way; "The
       novel begins with a murder"; "My property begins with the
       three maple trees"; "Her day begins with a workout"; "The
       semester begins with a convocation ceremony" [syn: begin,
       start]
    8: begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or
       inherent function of the direct object; "begin a cigar"; "She
       started the soup while it was still hot"; "We started physics
       in 10th grade" [syn: begin, start]
    9: achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in
       the negative; "This economic measure doesn't even begin to
       deal with the problem of inflation"; "You cannot even begin
       to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war"
    10: begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language; "She
        began Russian at an early age"; "We started French in fourth
        grade"

Begin \Be*gin"\, n.
   Beginning. [Poetic & Obs.] --Spenser.
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Begin \Be*gin"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Began, Begun; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Beginning.] [AS. beginnan (akin to OS. biginnan, D.
   & G. beginnen, OHG. biginnan, Goth., du-ginnan, Sw. begynna,
   Dan. begynde); pref. be- + an assumed ginnan. [root]31. See
   Gin to begin.]
   1. To have or commence an independent or first existence; to
      take rise; to commence.
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            Vast chain of being! which from God began. --Pope.
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   2. To do the first act or the first part of an action; to
      enter upon or commence something new, as a new form or
      state of being, or course of action; to take the first
      step; to start. "Tears began to flow." --Dryden.
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            When I begin, I will also make an end. --1 Sam. iii.
                                                  12.
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Begin \Be*gin"\, v. t.
   1. To enter on; to commence.
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            Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song. --Pope.
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   2. To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a
      beginning of.
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            The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures,
            which leads us to the knowledge of God. --Locke.
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   Syn: To commence; originate; set about; start.
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