commence (English)

Where does "commence" come from?

The English verb 'commence' arrived by way of Middle English 'commencen' or 'comencen'[1]. This form traces back to the Anglo-Norman 'comencer'[1], which itself developed from the Vulgar Latin verb '*cominitiāre'[1]. This Latin term was formed by combining the prefix 'com-' with 'initiāre'[3], a derivative of 'initium' meaning 'beginning'[2]. Over time, the word moved from its roots in classical Latin to signify the act of starting or beginning[1], a meaning it retains today in addition to its traditional use regarding taking a degree at a university[1].

Open questions

• The Vulgar Latin form '*cominitiāre' is a reconstructed term and is not directly attested in classical texts. [1] [3]

Full etymology tree

• commence (English), 'To begin, start.'
  • inherited commencen (Middle English)
    • borrowed comencer (Anglo-Norman)
      • inherited *cominitiare (Latin), 'begin, undertake'
        • compound com- (Latin), 'allomorph of con-'
        • compound initiare (Latin), 'inflection of initiō:'
          • derived initium (Latin), 'beginning, start'
          • suffix -are (Latin), 'present active infinitive of -ō (first conjugation)'

Ancestors

• com- (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• commenceable (English)

Sources

1. commence (English) - Wiktionary
2. initio (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. cominitiare (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris