# começar
## Galician
### Verb

começar (first-person singular present começo, first-person singular preterite comecei, past participle começado, reintegrationist norm)
* reintegrationist spelling of comezar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Related terms

* começo

### References

* “começar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

## Old Galician-Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ko.me.ˈt͡saɾ/
* Rhymes: -aɾ

### Verb

começar
* to start

#### Descendants

* Galician: comezar
* Portuguese: começar

### Further reading

* Universo Cantigas - "começar"

## Portuguese
### Alternative forms

* commeçar (obsolete)

### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese começar, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre, from com- + Latin initiāre. Compare Galician comezar. It has been supposed that the Portuguese form developed via an unattested *comẽeçar, but this appears unlikely. The loss of /n/ was likely due to analogy with the synonym empeçar (cf. Spanish comenzar, diphthongally influenced by empezar).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ko.meˈsa(ʁ)/ [ko.meˈsa(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ko.meˈsa(ʁ)/ [ko.meˈsa(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /ko.meˈsa(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ko.meˈsa(ʁ)/ [ko.meˈsa(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ko.meˈsa(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ku.mɨˈsaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ku.mɨˈsaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ku.mɨˈsa.ɾi/
* Hyphenation: co‧me‧çar

### Verb

começar (first-person singular present começo, first-person singular preterite comecei, past participle começado)
* (intransitive) to start; to begin; to commence
    Synonyms: iniciar, principiar
    Antonyms: acabar, terminar
    Fique quieto, o filme já vai começar! ― Keep quiet, the movie is going to start soon!
* (transitive) to begin; to start to do
    Synonyms: iniciar, principiar
    Antonyms: acabar, terminar
    Vou começar a lição de inglês falando sobre verbos irregulares. ― I will start the English lesson talking about irregular verbs.
* (transitive) to start; to initiate (to cause something to begin)
    Synonyms: iniciar, inicializar
    Antonyms: acabar com, terminar, finalizar, fechar
    Aperte play para começar o vídeo. ― Press play to start the video.
    O acontecimento começou um debate sobre o crime. ― The occurrence started a debate about crime.
* (catenative) to begin [with a (+ infinitive) or (less common) por (+ infinitive) ‘to do something’]
    Synonym: principiar
    Antonyms: terminar de, parar de
    Um pirralho começou a gritar. ― A brat began to scream / began screaming.
* (intransitive) to begin (to have a first experience)
    Synonym: principiar
    Antonym: terminar
    Não sei cozinhar ainda, mas comecei com alguns pratos simples. ― I don't know how to cook yet, but I started with some simple foods.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:começar.

#### Related terms

* começador
* começante
* começo
* iniciar

#### Descendants

* → Makalero: komesa (“to start”)

### References

* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A. Pascual (1984) “comenzar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), volumes II (Ce–F), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 157
* ↑ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “comĭnĭtiare”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 944

### Further reading

* “começar”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
* “começar”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2024
* “começar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
* “começar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
* “começar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
* “começar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024