Etymograph

English

begin

Begin comes from Middle English beginnen ‘to start, begin’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *biginnaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*biginnaną1‘to begin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*biginnan1‘to start’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150beginnan1‘to begin’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beginnen1‘to start’
  5. Englishearliest quotation a. 1705begin1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English begin
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1705, John Locke, An Examination of P[ère] Malebranche’s Opinion of Seeing All: “The Apoſtle begins our Knowledge in the Creatures, which…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*biginnanąWiktionary, English begin‘to begin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*biginnanWiktionary, English begin‘to start’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150beginnanWiktionary, English begin‘to begin’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beginnenWiktionary, English begin‘to start’
  5. Englishearliest quotation a. 1705beginWiktionary, English begin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1705, John Locke, An Examination of P[ère] Malebranche’s Opinion of Seeing All: “The Apoſtle begins our Knowledge in the Creatures, which…”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną

Today it means

verb To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “begin”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *biginnaną / begin

Shirt and support for this word