Pa. t. began. Pa. pple. begun. Forms: 1 bi-, beginnan, 2–4 biginnen, 3–4 biginne, 3–7 beginne, 3– begin. (Also 3 bigunen, 4 bigine, -gyn(e, bygyn(ne, 4–6 begyn(ne.) Pa. t. sing. 1– began, 1–5 bigan. (Also 2–5 bigon, 3–5 bygan, 4 bigane, 4–5 bygon(ne, 4–6 begann(e, begon(ne, 6–9 begun.) plur. 1 bi-, begunnon, 2–4 -gunnen, 3–4 bigun(ne, 4–6 begunne, 4–9 begun; 4–5 bi-, begann(e, 4– began. (Also 3–4 bygun(ne, -gonne, 6 -gane.) Sc. 4–7 begouth, 6 -gould, -guld, 6–8 -goud, 7–9 -gude. Pa. pple. 1–4 bi-, begunnen, 3–5 bigun(ne, 4–7 begunne, 4– begun. (Also 4–5 bygun(ne, begonnen, bygonne, 4–6 begonne, begunnyn, 6–7 begon, 7 begone, 7– occ. began.)
[Of common WGer. or ? OTeut. formation: OE. bi-, be-ginnan is identical with OS. and OHG. bi-ginnan, MHG., mod.G., Du. be-ginnen, MDu. beghinnen; f. bi-, BE- about + *ginnan, an original Teutonic vb., of which however only compounds have come down to us, including (beside the preceding) Goth. du-ginnan to begin, OE. ǫn-ginnan, a-ginnan, to begin, OHG. in-ginnan. MHG. en-ginnen. The latter (OHG. and MHG.) had the senses ‘to cut open, open up, begin, undertake’; hence it is inferred that the root sense of *ginnan was ‘to open, open up,’ and that it was cogn. w. ON. gína, OE. gínan ‘to gape, yawn,’ from a stem *gi-, appearing also in OSlav. zij-ati, L. hi-āre ‘to gape, open’:—Aryan *ghi-. ‘Gi-nn-an might originally be a form of the nu- class, in which, as in ri-nn-an, skî-n-an, and other verbs, the formative of the present was carried over into the other tenses’ (Sievers). The transition of sense from ‘open up’ to ‘begin,’ is a frequent one: cf. F. entamer, Eng. ATTAME; also Ger. eröffnen and Eng. ‘open’ a speech, ‘open’ fire, ‘open up’ negotiations; also the parallel use of ‘close, close up, conclude, shut up,’ in sense of ‘to end.’ Beginnan was very rare in OE., where the ordinary word was ǫnginnan: see ONGIN, AGIN, and the aphetic GIN, GAN. As in other verbs having grammatical vowel change in the pa. t., there was an early tendency to level the forms of the 1–3 sing. began, and of the 2 sing. begunne, pl. begunnon, which has resulted in the establishment of began as the standard form; but an alternative from the old plural begun has also come down to the present day. The rare pa. pple. began shows form-levelling in another direction. The Sc. forms begouth, begoud, seem due to some form-association with couth, could, probably through the aphetic form gan, which became in Sc. can, and was thus identical in form with can ‘to be able.’]
1. intr. To open operations upon or in reference to (any action), to set oneself effectively to do (something), to be at the point of first contact with; to enter upon, take the first step, do the first or starting part; to commence, to start. An abstract notion, which is reached in various languages through the concrete notions of opening, broaching (F. entamer), going into or entering upon (L. inīre), rousing oneself to, attacking (L. adorīri), setting oneself to (F. se mettre), seizing hold of, or taking in hand (G. anfangen), rousing oneself from inaction into activity (start).
a. with dative inf. with to (formerly often for to; occasionally with the inf. without to).
c. 1000. Ælfric, Gen. ix. 20. Noe þa began to wircenne þæt land.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 77. Nu bi-gon paul to wepen.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 188. Ðan ðat he singen bi-gan.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 3565. His heued bigines for to scak. Ibid., 5942. Ful yern on godd bi-gun [v.r. beganne] þai call.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., II. iii. 37. Þou bygunne raþer to ben leef and deere Þan forto ben a neyȝbour.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, IX. 183. Thair hertis all begouth to fale.
c. 1420. Avow. Arth., xxx. The day be-ganne to daw.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 1 b. Therupon I begon … to wryte in latyn.
a. 1572. Knox, Hist. Ref., Wks. 1846, I. 389. Thay begould to requyre that Messe sould be sett up agane.
1581. Savile, Tacitus’ Hist. (1622), 198. The troopes of the horsemen beganne for to flee.
1611. Bible, Gen. iv. 26. Then began men to call vpon the Name of the Lord.
1646. Row, Hist. Kirk (1842), 245. Many … ill-principled ministers begouth to acknowledge them.
1647. W. Browne, Polexander, I. 183. The faire Gardeneresse then began speake.
1793. Smeaton, Edystone L., § 323. The storm … begun at the south-east.
a. 1813. A. Wilson, Hogmenae, Wks. 295. Auld Saunders begoud for to wink.
1819. Byron, Juan, II. clxvii. He begun To hear new words, and to repeat them.
1821. T. H. Scott in Parr’s Wks. (1828), VII. 242. They have already began to export fine wool.
1826. J. Wilson, Noct. Ambr., Wks. 1855, I. 238. Day-life begude to roar again.
1870. H. Macmillan, Bible Teach., x. 208. We began to die the moment we began to live.
¶ When the following verb is transitive, e.g., ‘they have begun to cleanse it,’ the passive has been variously ‘it has been begun-to-cleanse,’ ‘it has been begun to be cleansed,’ ‘it has begun to be cleansed’; the last is the form now used.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 99. Þe is of sinne clensed oðer bigunne to clensende.
c. 1400. Maundev., v. 40. When the gret Tour of Babel was begonnen to be made.
a. 1657. Sir J. Balfour, Ann. Scotl. (1825), II. 72. Wedinsday, the 18 of Nouember, a blazinge star begude to be seine in the southe.
b. absol. To start or take the first step in any matter in question, or in action generally.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 85. Ðu bigunne betere þenne þu ende.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Wks. (1880), 78. Charite schuld bigyne at hemself.
1458. MS., in Dom. Archit., III. 41. The kynge bad hem begynne apon Goddes blissing.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot., III. 314. With als grit anger that tyme as tha culd, Tha left the mater war than tha beguld.
1591. Shaks., Two Gent., II. iv. 32. I know it wel sir, you alwaies end ere you begin.
1612. Dekker, If not good, Wks. 1873, I. 276. Well to begin, and not to end so were base.
a. 1762. Lady M. W. Montague, Lett., lxxx. 132. I do not know how to begin.
c. spec. To begin a speech, to start speaking, to speak.
1563. Mirr. Mag., Induct. xix. My spirits returnd, and then I thus begonne:…
1667. Milton, P. L., I. 83. To whom th’ Arch-Enemy … breaking the horrid silence, thus began:…
1725. Pope, Odyss., IV. 82. Soft-whispering thus to Nestor’s son … young Ithacus begun:…
c. Const. To begin at (formerly from): to start from a point. To begin with (formerly at, from, by): to start with an action or thing affected; to begin by doing something. To begin with, (withal obs.), advb. phr.: At the outset, as the first thing to be considered.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., A. 546. Bygyn at þe laste þat standez lowe, Tyl to þe fyrste þat þou at-teny.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Tres Tract., 24. Bigynne we at the freris, the whiche he brouȝte laste inne. Ibid. (1382), Luke xxiii. 5. Bigynnyng fro Galilee til hidur [Tindale, at Galile even to this place; Rhemish, from Galilee euen hither; 1611 from Galilee to this place].
1531. Tindale, Expos. & Notes (1849), 220. And, to begin withal, they said Confiteor.
1536. R. Beerley, in Four C. Eng. Lett., 35. Sume cum to mattens, begenynge at the mydes, and sume when yt ys allmost done.
1562. Foxe, A. & M., I. 452/2. First, beginning with that godly man … the Author of the Book.
a. 1563. Bale, K. Johan (1837), 47. Fyrst to begyne with, we shall interdyte the lond.
1611. Bible, Matt. xx. 8. Beginning from the last vnto the first [Wyclif, to; Geneva, at the laste til [to] the firste].
1631. Gouge, God’s Arrows, iii. § 2. 182. I will begin with the Assaulter, who is … said to be Amalek.
1697. Dryden, Alexander’s Feast, ii. The song began from Jove.
1739. Chesterf., Lett., I. xxxix. 124. The Spaniards began their conquests … by the islands of St. Domingo and Cuba. Ibid. (1774), 2. I am told, Sir, you are preparing to travel, and that you begin by Holland.
1819. Byron, Juan, I. vii. My way is to begin with the beginning.
1843. Carlyle, Past & Pr., 324. The noble Priest was always a noble Aristos, to begin with.
1860. Mill, Repr. Govt., 278. It is obvious, to begin with, that all business purely local … should devolve upon the local authorities.
2. trans. (in same sense) with a vbl. sb., or other noun expressing action; also ellipt. with any sb. treated as a piece of work, as to begin (writing) a letter, to begin (reading) a book.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 93. Þet weorc wes bigunnen on-ȝen godes iwillan.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 266. Now þis prolouge wil we blin, In crist nam our bok begin.
1307. Elegy Edw. I., viii. Bringe to ende that thou hast by-gonne.
1433. Caxton, G. de la Tour, E vj b. He began werre to his neyghbours and to his Barons.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, V. ii. 36. This sacrifice quhilk I begunnyn haif.
1699. Bentley, Phal., ii. 62. They begun their Reigns at the same time.
1722. Lond. Gaz., No. 6051/1. His Royal Highness began the Ball with the Princess.
1751. Chatham, Lett. Nephew, ii. 6. I rejoice to hear you have begun Homer’s Iliad.
1835. Crabbe, Par. Reg., I. 276. With evil omen, we that year begin.
b. intr. To begin on or upon: To set to work upon, begin to deal with.
1808. Southey, Life (1850), III. 163. I will not begin upon it till I come to a stop in Kehama.
3. trans. To start (anything) on its career, to give origin to, bring into existence, create; to be the first to do or practise. Of works, practices, or institutions, lasting through time.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 59. Alle þe scafte þe he bi-gon.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 447. Ðis Lamech was þe firme man ðe bigamie first bigan.
c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., 1007. Dido … This noble toun of Cartage hath bygunge.
1704. Pope, Windsor For., 61. Proud Nimrod first the savage chace began.
1846. Grote, Greece, I. xviii. II. 14. Archelaus … alleged to have first begun the dynasty of the Temenid Kings.
4. intr. To enter upon its career, come into existence, take its rise, originate; to arise, start.
a. in reference to time.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 236. Here first name ðor bigan.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 5342. Þar lijs adam, þe formast man, And eue of quam we all bigann.
1393. Gower, Conf., I. 26. And than a newe [world] shal beginne.
1513. More, Rich. III. (1641), 235. If the world would have begunne as I would have wished.
1598. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. i. (1641), 2/1. Eternally before this World begun.
1602. Fulbecke, 1st Pt. Parall., 28. All perfection, goodnes, and iustice beginneth at him.
1611. Bible, Num. xvi. 46. There is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.
1875. Bryce, Holy Rom. Emp. (ed. 5), Sup. 405. The greatness of the Prussian monarchy begins with Frederick II.
1883. H. Drummond, Nat. Law in Spir. W., 386. All life begins at the Amœboid stage.
b. of order in a list or series, place in a book, etc.
a. 1225. St. Marher., 1. Her beginneð þe liflade and te passiun of seinte Margarete.
1382. Wyclif, Matt. ad fin. Here endith the gospel of Matheu and bigynneth the prolog of Mark.
1485. Caxton, Chas. Gt., 3. Here begynnen the chapytres and tytles of this book folowing.
Mod. A new story begins in the present number. The paragraph begins about the middle of the page.
c. in reference to space.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1035. Þis flummes four þat þar biginnes, thoru out all oþer contres rinnes.
1517. Torkington, Pilgrimage (1884), 23. At this Jaffe begynnyth the holy londe.
Mod. The pine-forests begin at an elevation of two thousand feet.
5. Phrases. † To begin the board, dais, etc.: to sit at the head of the table. † To begin a toast: to propose a toast. † To begin to a person: to pledge, toast that person. To begin the world: to start in life. To begin upon a person (colloq.): to attack or assail a person.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 52. Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bygonne Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.
c. 1430. Syr Tryam., 1636. Quene Margaret began the deyse.
1493. Festivall (W. de W., 1515), 85 b. That they sholde bere them to hym that began the table [at Cana].
1628. Earle, Microcosm., lxxvi. 157. That is kind o’er his beer, and protests he loves you, And begins to you again.
1633. Bp. Hall, Hard Texts, 36. Can yee drinke of that bitter cup wherein I shall begin to you?
a. 1715. Burnet, Own Time, II. 117. At Sancroft’s consecration dinner, he began a health, to the confusion of all that were not for a war with France.
c. 1825. Mrs. Sherwood, Houlston Tr., II. xxxii. 4. All the company began upon her, and bade her mind her own affairs.
1833. Ht. Martineau, Brooke Farm, iv. 53. Do you know … with how much land Mr. Malton began the world?
