1.  commence(v = verb.change) begin, get, get down, set about, set out, start, start out - 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"
Derived form noun commencement₃
Sample sentences: They commence moving

2.  commence(v = verb.change) begin, lead off, start - 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"
Derived form noun commencement₃
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something

3.  commence(v = verb.creation) embark on, start, start up - 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"
is one way to begin, commence, lead off, start
Derived form noun commencement₃
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something

1.  To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin. [1913 Webster]
"Here the anthem doth commence." [1913 Webster]
"His heaven commences ere the world be past." [1913 Webster]

2.  To begin to be, or to act as. [1913 Webster]
"We commence judges ourselves." [1913 Webster]

3.  To take a degree at a university. [1913 Webster]
"I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age." [1913 Webster]

   To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of. [1913 Webster]
" 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." [1913 Webster]
"Many a wooer doth commence his suit." [1913 Webster]

commence, v.tr. & intr. formal begin.

Etymology:
ME f. OF com(m)encier f. Rmc (as COM-, L initiare INITIATE)

VB  begin, start, commence, conceive, open, dawn, set in, take its rise, enter upon, enter, set out, embark in, incept, initiate, launch, inaugurate, inchoate, rise, arise, originate, usher in, lead off, lead the way, take the lead, take the initiative, head, stand at the head, stand first, stand for, lay the foundations, found, set up, set on foot, agoing, set abroach, set the ball in motion, apply the match to a train, broach, open up, open the door to, get underway, set about, get to work, set to work, set to, make a beginning, make a start, handsel, take the first step, lay the first stone, cut the first turf, break ground, break the ice, break cover, pass the Rubicon, cross the Rubicon, open fire, open the ball, ventilate, air, undertake, come into existence, come into the world, make one's debut, take birth, burst forth, break out, spring up, spring forth, crop up, pop up, appear, materialize, begin at the beginning, begin ab ovo, begin again, begin de novo, start afresh, make a fresh start, take it from the top, shuffle the cards, reshuffle the cards, resume, recommence.