begin

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
  2. verb take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
  3. verb have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense

Etymology

From Middle English beginnen, from Old English beginnan (“to begin”), from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”), from be- + base verb *ginnaną also found in Old English onginnan.

In classic literature

Synonyms

Menachem Begin

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