Etymologically
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commence

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Pronunciation

  • /kəˈmɛns/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English commencen, also comencen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French comencier, also comencer,[5][3][6][4] now commencer,[5][4] from Vulgar Latin *cominitiō,[3][6][7][4] formed from com-, here intensive, and Late Latin initiō (“to begin”),[3][8][7] in classical Latin "to initiate, consecrate",[4][5] from initium (“a beginning”),[5][8] from ineō (“to go into, begin”), from in- (“into”) and eō (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *ei- (“to go”).[5][3] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from 1113–19.[9] The same Romance verb gave Italian cominciare and Spanish comenzar.[7][4][10] The double m began in French and is etymologically unfounded; it was established in English by 1500.[7][6][5] A reduced Middle English form comsen, used mainly as an auxiliary in South-Western texts, is recorded from the 13th century.[2][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

To begin something: probably about 1300, in Guy of Warwick,[6][7] c. 1300 in Etymonline.[5] The OED's earliest dated example, about 1320 in Sir Orfeo, is of the construction "commence to do something".[7]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the verb was already transitive, intransitive and followed by à in Old French, and that English had all three uses from the start.[7] The intransitive sense "to come into being, to begin" is recorded from the late 14th century.[5][7][2] From before 1387 it translated Medieval Latin incipiō in the university sense "to take the full degree of Master or Doctor",[7][12][6] which is why a degree ceremony is called a commencement.[6] Johnson (1755) gave both "to begin; to take beginning" and "to make a beginning of; as to commence a suit".[13] In 17th–19th-century use one could also commence a profession, to begin to be one ("commence author").[7][14] In Essex and Sussex a commence was an awkward affair or job.[15]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – to begin something.[6][5]
  • c. 1320 – to begin to do something.[7]
  • c. 1380 – intransitive, to begin, come into operation.[7][2]
  • before 1387 – to take a university degree.[7][6]
  • 1642 – to begin to be, set up as.[7]
  • 1794 – noun, a beginning.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To begin or start something; to enter upon it: The board commenced its review in March.[14][8][7]
  2. To begin formally, as with the first legal step: commence proceedings.[14][7]
  3. To have a beginning; to start: The ceremony will commence at noon.[14][8][7]
  4. To begin to be, or to start acting in a role.[14][7]
  5. To take a university degree, especially that of Master or Doctor.[7][12]

Word family

  • commencer
  • commenceable

Usage notes

The OED notes that commence means exactly the same as the native begin, but that begin is preferred in ordinary use, while commence is more formal and is used especially of law and procedure, combat, divine service and ceremonies, continuing its Anglo-Norman use.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e f Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  11. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  12. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)