Etymograph

English

beginning

Beginning comes from Middle English biginning.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biginning1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1871beginning1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English beginning
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, The Antiquary: “To mark this absolutism of change over the works…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biginningWiktionary, English beginning
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1871beginningWiktionary, English beginning. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, The Antiquary: “To mark this absolutism of change over the works…”

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Today it means

noun The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “beginning”. 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 / Middle English biginning / beginning