Origin: Latin suffix -ence
Commence has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
"We began working at dawn"
"Who will start?"
"Get working as soon as the sun rises!"
"The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia"
"He began early in the day"
"Let's get down to work now"
To begin, start.
"The construction workers will commence their shift at six o'clock in the morning."
Commence entered English through the Middle French word commencer and Old Norman comencen. It originally combined a prefix meaning "together" with a root related to beginning or starting an action.