commence
[ kuh-mens ]
/ kəˈmɛns /
verb (used with or without object), com·menced, com·menc·ing.
to begin; start.
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Nearby words
commemorate, commemoration, commemorative, commemoratory, commen, commencing, commencement, commend, commendable, commendam, commendation
Origin of commence
Related forms
Synonym study
See begin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for commencing
British Dictionary definitions for commencing
commence
/ (kəˈmɛns) /
verb
to start or begin; come or cause to come into being, operation, etc
Derived Formscommencer, noun
Word Origin for commence
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 commencing
commence
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper