commence

Definitions

1. 1.To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] We commence judges ourselves. Coleridge.
2. 2.To take a degree at a university. [Eng.] I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. Fuller.
3. 3.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.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

• What does "commence" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is commence.

• What is to begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] We commence judges ourselves. Coleridge called?
• What is to take a degree at a university. [Eng.] I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. Fuller called?