beginning
     adj : serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the
           first verse" [syn: {beginning(a)}, {first}]
     n 1: the event consisting of the start of something; "the
          beginning of the war" [ant: {ending}]
     2: the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got
        an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the
        man for her" [syn: {commencement}, {first}, {outset}, {get-go},
         {start}, {kickoff}, {starting time}, {showtime}, {offset}]
        [ant: {middle}, {end}]
     3: the first part or section of something; "`It was a dark and
        stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story" [ant:
        {middle}, {end}]
     4: the place where something begins, where it springs into
        being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance";
        "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is
        the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root"
        [syn: {origin}, {root}, {rootage}, {source}]
     5: the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the
        beginning of negotiations" [syn: {start}, {commencement}]
        [ant: {finish}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0

beginning
     See {begin}
Source: WordNet® 2.0