n. | 1. | 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. |
2. | That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin; source. | |
3. | That which is begun; a rudiment or element. | |
4. | Enterprise. |