Definitions of beginning:

• noun:   the act of starting something

  Example: "He was responsible for the beginning of negotiations"

• noun:   the first part or section of something

  Example: "`It was a dark and stormy night' is a hackneyed beginning for a story"

• noun:   the event consisting of the start of something

  Example: "The beginning of the war"

• noun:   the place where something begins, where it springs into being

  Example: "The Italian beginning of the Renaissance"

• noun:   the time at which something is supposed to begin