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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Commence \Com*mence"\ (k[o^]m*m[e^]ns"), verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Commenced} (k[o^]m*m[e^]nst"); 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 The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Commence \Com*mence"\, verb (used with an object) 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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
commence
verb
1: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "We began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's get down to work now" [syn: {get down}, {begin}, {get}, {start out}, {start}, {set about}, {set out}] [ant: {end}]
2: set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a new chapter in your life" [syn: {begin}, {lead off}, {start}] [ant: {end}]
3: get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: {start}, {start up}, {embark on}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
39 Moby Thesaurus words for "commence": arise, begin, blast away, blast off, come into being, dive in, embark, embark on, embark upon, enter, enter upon, establish, fall to, get to, go ahead, head into, inaugurate, initiate, jump off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, originate, pitch in, plunge into, send off, set about, set in, set out, set sail, set to, start, start in, start off, start out, take off, take up, turn to
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |