Commence \Com*mence"\, v. t.
   To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of.
   
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         Many a wooer doth commence his suit.     --Shak.
   
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   Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal
         noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after
         commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced
         to study.
         
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Commence \Com*mence"\ (k[o^]m*m[e^]ns"), v. i. [imp. & p. p.
   {Commenced} (k[o^]m*m[e^]nst"); p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Commencing}.] [F. commencer, OF. comencier, fr. L. com- +
   initiare to begin. See {Initiate}.]
   1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to
      begin.
      
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            Here the anthem doth commence.        --Shak.
      
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            His heaven commences ere the world be past.
                                                  --Goldsmith.
      
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   2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic]
      
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            We commence judges ourselves.         --Coleridge.
      
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   3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.]
      
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            I question whether the formality of commencing was
            used in that age.                     --Fuller.
      
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commence
     v 1: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action; "We
          began working at dawn"; "Who will start?"; "Get working
          as soon as the sun rises!"; "The first tourists began to
          arrive in Cambodia"; "He began early in the day"; "Let's
          get down to work now" [syn: {get down}, {begin}, {get},
          {start out}, {start}, {set about}, {set out}] [ant: {end}]
     2: set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. started a war in
        the Middle East"; "The Iraqis began hostilities"; "begin a
        new chapter in your life" [syn: {begin}, {lead off}, {start}]
        [ant: {end}]
     3: get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We
        embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with
        a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The
        afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started
        when the partisans launched a surprise attack" [syn: {start},
         {start up}, {embark on}]

39 Moby Thesaurus words for "commence":
   arise, begin, blast away, blast off, come into being, dive in,
   embark, embark on, embark upon, enter, enter upon, establish,
   fall to, get to, go ahead, head into, inaugurate, initiate,
   jump off, kick off, launch, lead off, open, originate, pitch in,
   plunge into, send off, set about, set in, set out, set sail,
   set to, start, start in, start off, start out, take off, take up,
   turn to