Word for Wednesday: Beginning

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Happy new year!

Our Word for Wednesday theme for 2023 is tricky spelling words. This year, after sharing the definition and etymology of each week’s word, we will end every blog post with some tips and tricks to help you spell it.

Our first word of the year is beginning.

A beginning is the start of something. If something is beginning, it means it is about to start.

Here is beginning used in some example sentences:

  • 2023 is only just beginning.
  • It is the beginning of January.
  • The film is beginning at noon.

Beginning has been used in English since the later-twelfth century. The Old English word for the ‘start of something’ was ‘fruma’.

The word beginning is an example of the following spelling rule about adding suffixes:

If you are adding a vowel suffix (-ing) to a root word that ends with a vowel followed by a consonant (begin-), you need to double the final letter of the root word before adding the suffix.

This is why the word beginning contains nn. You can learn more about the doubling rule in Unit 9. 

If you are familiar with the Christmas story, you can use it to help you remember how to spell beginning.

Notice that beginning has the words beg and inn in it.

Think of the beginning of Jesus’s life: Mary and Joseph had to beg to stay at the inn, but, as there was no room, Jesus was born in a stable.


04 Jan 2023
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