commence
[kuh-mens]
- to begin; start.
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Origin of commence
Synonyms
See more synonyms for commence on Thesaurus.comoriginate, inaugurate.
Synonym study
See begin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for commenced
Contemporary Examples
Exactly 20 years ago, the sitting government in Rwanda commenced a genocide against minority Tutsi and moderate Hutu populations.
Soviet Russia annexed Ukraine in 1922, after a war that had commenced in 1917, when the Bolsheviks took Moscow.
In May, just two weeks after production had commenced on 12 Years A Slave, the cameras started rolling on All Is by My Side.
John Ridley on ’12 Years A Slave,’ Jimi Hendrix Biopic, Steve McQueen 'Feud,' and Diversity OnscreenMarlow Stern
March 11, 2014
I commenced to write a piece suggesting that the Sandy Hook killer may have been acting out of some kind of homicidal pedophilia.
The pipes and drums then commenced to play “The Barren Rocks of Aden.”
Historical Examples
The storm which commenced so suddenly was one of great violence.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
As soon as we unloaded, it commenced to rain, and kept on steadily till midnight.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
On the 12th July, General Sumter commenced his brilliant career.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis MarionWilliam Dobein James
Just then the curtain rose again, and the play of the "Serious Family," commenced.
Life in LondonEdwin Hodder
The first evening reading had been commenced with nuts and apples.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
commence
- to start or begin; come or cause to come into being, operation, etc
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French comencer, from Vulgar Latin cominitiāre (unattested), from Latin com- (intensive) + initiāre to begin, from initium a beginning
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for commenced
commence
v.
c.1300, from Old French comencier "to begin, start" (10c., Modern French commencer), from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare, originally "to initiate as priest, consecrate," from Latin com- "together" (see com-) + initiare "to initiate," from initium (see initial (adj.)). Spelling with double -m- began in French and was established in English by 1500. Related: Commenced; commencing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper