different between beginning vs infancy
beginning
English
Alternative forms
- begynnynge (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- enPR: b?g?'n?ng, IPA(key): /b????.n??/
Etymology 1
From Middle English biginning, beginninge, beginnunge, equivalent to begin +? -ing.
Noun
beginning (countable and uncountable, plural beginnings)
- (uncountable) The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.
- That which is begun; a rudiment or element.
- That which begins or originates something; the source or first cause.
- What was the beginning of the dispute?
- The initial portion of some extended thing.
- The author describes the main character's youth at the beginning of the story.
- That house is at the beginning of the street.
- 1975, Frances Keinzley, The Cottage at Chapelyard, page 179,
- "Is anything the matter?" Lady Lindstrom asked anxiously.
- "No," Megan told her. "I'm merely trying to decide where the beginning is."
- "Perhaps at the beginning," the Chief Constable prompted, rather stupidly, Megan thought.
- "Which beginning?" she asked.
Usage notes
"In the beginning" is an idiomatic expression that means "at first, initially"; it does not mean the same as "at the beginning".
The meaning of "at the beginning" is clear from its parts. This expression is used to refer to the time when or place where something starts; it is used to refer to points in time and space and also to fairly long periods of time and fairly large extents of space. ("At the beginning of the story" can be used to refer to both the first few sentences and to the first chapter or chapters. "At the beginning of the trail" can be used to refer to both the first few meters and the first part of a trail, which can be quite substantial, even a fifth or fourth or more.)
The originally rare and traditionally deprecated usage of "in the beginning of" (instead of "at the beginning of") has become more common but is still ignored by most dictionaries and other authorities or labeled as unidiomatic or incorrect. Interestingly, there is only rarely confusion between the parallel expressions "in the end" and "at the end (of)".
Synonyms
- (act of doing that which begins anything): commencing, start, starting
- (that which is begun; rudiment or element): element, embryo, rudiment
- (that which begins or originates something): origin, source, start, commencement
- (initial portion of some extended thing): head, start
Antonyms
- (act of doing that which begins anything): conclusion, end
Derived terms
- a good beginning makes a good ending
- beginning of day
- in the beginning
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English begynnyng, bygynnynge, From Old English *beginnende (attested only as Old English onginnende), from Proto-Germanic *biginnandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *biginnan? (“to begin”), equivalent to begin +? -ing.
Verb
beginning
- present participle of begin
Adjective
beginning (not comparable)
- (informal) Of or relating to the first portion of some extended thing.
- in the beginning paragraph of the chapter
- in the beginning section of the course
Translations
Synonyms
- first
- initial
beginning From the web:
- what beginning of covid feels like
- what beginnings did antonio think about
- what beginning of labor feels like
- what beginning is marked by the elizabethan age
- what does covid feel like in the beginning
- what do beginning covid symptoms feel like
infancy
English
Etymology
From Latin ?nfantia (“infancy, early childhood; childishness”), equivalent to infant +? -cy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??nf?nsi/
Noun
infancy (countable and uncountable, plural infancies)
- The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).
- The state of being an infant.
- (figuratively) An early stage in the development of anything.
- Space tourism is still in its infancy.
- (law) The state of being a minor.
Synonyms
(earliest period of childhood):
- infanthood
- babyhood
(state of being an infant):
- babyship
(state of being a minor):
- infanthood
Translations
infancy From the web:
- what infancy mean
- what infants can do
- what infancy narratives
- what infancy in french
- infancy what type of noun
- infancy what age
- infancy what to eat
- infancy what does it mean
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