English Dictionary: commence | by the DICT Development Group |
3 results for commence | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Commence \Com*mence"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Commenced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Commencing}.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See {Initiate}.] 1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin. Here the anthem doth commence. --Shak. His heaven commences ere the world be past. --Goldsmith. 2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] We commence judges ourselves. --Coleridge. 3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.] I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. --Fuller. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Commence \Com*mence"\, v. t. To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of. Many a wooer doth commence his suit. --Shak. Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced to study. |