beginning
/bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/
noun
Origin
Old English
beginnan — to undertake, to start
Overview
Meaning Now
- The point in time or space at which something starts.
- The first part or the earliest stage of an event or process.
Literal older meaning
the act of starting
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
beginnunge
Earliest period
12th century
Journey
The word stems from the Old English verb 'beginnan'. The 'be-' prefix was originally an intensive used to change intransitive verbs into transitive ones, and 'ginnan' is thought to be related to 'geonian', meaning 'to yawn' or 'to open one's mouth', suggesting a metaphor of opening or initiating an action.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*biginnjan
“to begin”
- Old English
beginnan
“to start, to enter upon”
- Middle English
beginnunge
“the act of beginning”
Addition of the gerundial suffix -ung/-ing
Connections
Word parts
be-
prefix
intensive or transitive marker
gin
root
to open, to start
-ning
suffix
forms a verbal noun
Related across languages
Old Saxon
biginnan
to begin
Old High German
biginnan
to begin
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Related to beginning
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.