beginning in WordNet English dictionary

1. the act of starting something
   "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations"
   beginning  start  commencement 
   
2. the first part or section of something
   "`It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story"
   beginning 
   
3. the event consisting of the start of something
   "the beginning of the war"
   beginning 
   
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"
   beginning  origin  root  rootage  source 
   
5. 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"
   beginning  commencement  first  outset  get-go  start  kickoff  starting time  showtime  offset 
   

1. serving to begin
   "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse"
   beginning  first