start
part of speech
noun (start, starts); verb (start, starts, started, starting)
meaning for a pupil
1) The start is the beginning of something: the start of the race. tree →
2) To start is to begin to do something: start reading. tree →
3) To start something is to make it begin or work: start the car. tree →
4) To start can mean to jump a little in surprise. tree →
5) «For a start» means as the first point. tree →
6) To start for a place means to set off on a journey towards it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah it means to begin, as the series of numbers begins from one. Interpretation: The Sefer Yetzirah teaches that all numbers come from one, as everything comes from the One God. This is a picture of unity at the heart of creation. In the primary lessons: the first step of a scene or story, before any change («At the start, Ben had 9 cards» = the first count); a question about the start means undoing the changes; in sport the start line; in everyday life «start school», «start again», «a fresh start»; in safety «start the car» is only for adults
examples
- 11) As the infinite series of numbers starts from one unit, so was the whole Universe formed a unity, that centres in the Godhead. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- And the doors shall be shut in the street, when the sound of the grinding is low; and one shall start up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; (Writings ECC.12.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- What if at the start I had put two pears instead? tree →
- At the start, Ben had 9 cards. tree →
- How many cards did Zoe have at the start? tree →
- The race starts at ten o'clock. tree →
- Let's start from the beginning. tree →
- It started to rain. tree →
- I start school next week. tree →
- The loud bang made me start. tree →
- Stand behind the start line. tree →
- Toward evening they started for home. tree →
note
«at the start» marks the first count. Trap: when the question asks for the start, undo the changes: add back what went, take away what came. Past «started». Opposite: end, finish. «start» and «begin» mean nearly the same.
In the corpora
- Starting a new job means learning new systems, names and rules all at once, so people come home tired.
- Family feuds often start over money, a will or hurtful words, and they can last for years.
- The easiest way never to have a hard habit is never to start one.
- Nicotine is very addictive, so smokers feel uncomfortable until they have the next one, and most started as teenagers.
- Many people pay every month for a gym and then stop going, because starting a habit is easy and keeping it is hard.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «start» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.