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start

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Start, START, štart, and старт

English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan
Old English styrtan
Middle English stertendeverb.
Middle English stert
English start

    From Middle English stert, from the verb sterten (“to start, startle”). See below.

    Noun

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    start (plural starts)

    1. The beginning of an activity.
      The movie was entertaining from start to finish.
    2. A sudden involuntary movement.
      He woke with a start.
    3. The beginning point of a race, a board game, etc.
      Captured pieces are returned to the start of the board.
    4. An appearance in a sports game, horserace, etc., from the beginning of the event.
      Jones has been a substitute before, but made his first start for the team last Sunday.
      • 2011 February 12, Ian Hughes, “Arsenal 2 - 0 Wolverhampton”, in BBC‎[1]:
        Wilshere, who made his first start for England in the midweek friendly win over Denmark, raced into the penalty area and chose to cross rather than shoot - one of the very few poor selections he made in the match.
    5. (horticulture) A young plant germinated in a pot to be transplanted later.
      • 2009, Liz Primeau, Steven A. Frowine, Gardening Basics For Canadians For Dummies:
        You generally see nursery starts at garden centres in mid to late spring. Small annual plants are generally sold in four-packs or larger packs, with each cell holding a single young plant.
    6. An initial advantage over somebody else; a head start.
      to get, or have, the start
      • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
        The man has got two clear days' start and the chances are nine to one against catching him.
    7. (UK, slang, archaic) A happening or proceeding.
      • 1887, Hawley Smart, A False Start, volume 2, page 69:
        “It's a rum start, old John Madingley's coming down to Tunnleton,” said Grafton, one evening in the smoking-room; […]
    8. Alternative letter-case form of Start (“a typical button for video games, originally used to start a game, now also often to pause or choose an option”)
    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    • → German: Start
    • → Persian: استارت (estârt)
    • → Japanese: スタート
    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Etymology 2

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    From Middle English sterten (“to leap up suddenly, rush out”), from Old English styrtan (“to leap up, start”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan (“to startle, move, set in motion”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ter- (“to be stiff”). Cognate with Old Frisian stirta (“to fall down, tumble”), Middle Dutch sterten (“to rush, fall, collapse”) (Dutch storten), Old High German sturzen (“to hurl, plunge, turn upside down”) (German stürzen), Old High German sterzan (“to be stiff, protrude”). More at stare.

    Verb

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    start (third-person singular simple present starts, present participle starting, simple past and past participle started)

    1. (ergative) To begin, commence, initiate.
      1. To set in motion.
        to start a stream of water;   to start a rumour;   to start a business
        • April 2, 1716, Joseph Addison, Freeholder No. 30
          I was some years ago engaged in conversation with a fashionable French Abbe, upon a subject which the people of that kingdom love to start in discourse.
        • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
          In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.
      2. To begin.
        The President fired the gun to start the footrace.
        The rain started at 9:00.
        • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
          Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
        • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
          Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’  […] .” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it.
      4. To ready the operation of a vehicle or machine.
        to start the engine
      5. To put or raise (a question, an objection); to put forward (a subject for discussion).
      6. To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent.
        • 1674, William Temple, letter to The Countess of Essex:
          Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start.
    2. (intransitive) To have its origin (at), begin.
      The speed limit is 50 km/h, starting at the edge of town.
      The blue line starts one foot away from the wall.
    3. To move suddenly, from a previous state of rest; to startle.
      1. (intransitive) To jerk, jump up, flinch, or draw back in surprise.
        Synonym: jump
        • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:
          But if he start,
          It is the flesh of a corrupted heart.
        • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], page 257, column 2:
          I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord
          VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood,
          Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres,
          Thy knotty and combined locks to part,
          And each particular haire to ſtand an end,
          Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]
        • 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
          I start as from some dreadful dream.
        • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:
          Keep your soul to the work when it is ready to start aside.
        • 1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XXXI:
          [...] The tempest's mocking elf
          Points to the shipman thus the unseen shelf
          He strikes on, only when the timbers start.
        • 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter VIII, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 139:
          Suddenly his eye fell on the screen that he had placed in front of the portrait, and he started.
        • 1836, Elizur Wright, Quarterly Anti-slavery Magazine, volume 2, page 162:
          Physical poison would make them start from arsenicked bread; shall not the moral poison which is in it, make them start more promptly still from slave produce?
      2. (intransitive) To awaken suddenly.
        • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter IV, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 100:
          I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; [...]
      3. (transitive) To disturb and set in motion; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee.
        The hounds started a fox.
      4. (ergative, of an object) To come loose, to break free of a firmly set position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate.
        the storm started the bolts in the vessel
        • 1676, Richard Wiseman, Severall Chirurgicall Treatises, London: […] E. Flesher and J. Macock, for R[ichard] Royston […], and B[enjamin] Took, […], →OCLC:
          One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternon.
        • 1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 76:
          [...] we could, with the greateſt eaſe, as well as clearneſs, ſee all objects, (ourſelves unſeen) only by applying our eyes cloſe to the crevice, where the moulding of a pannel had warp'd, or ſtarted a little on the other ſide.
    4. (transitive, sports) To put into play.
      • 2010, Brian Glanville, The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to South Africa 2010, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 361:
        The charge against Zagallo then is not so much that he started Ronaldo, but that when it should surely have been clear that the player was in no fit state to take part he kept him on.
      • 2024 May 6, Sid Lowe, “Portu’s brilliant burst seals Girona’s top-four fairytale in the perfect way”, in The Guardian‎[2], →ISSN:
        “Look at Portu,” Michel insisted, “he scores goals and I never start him. He says: ‘You’re sinking me, but OK, I’ll just go out and score again.’”
    5. (transitive, nautical) To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from.
      to start a water cask
    6. (intransitive, euphemistic) To begin one's menstrual cycle.
      Have you started yet?
    Usage notes
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    Synonyms
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    Antonyms
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    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Noun

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    start (plural starts)

    1. An instance of starting.
    Derived terms
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    See also

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    See also the terms derived from starting.

    Etymology 3

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      From Middle English stert, start (“tail, handle, projection”), from Old English steort (“tail”), from Proto-West Germanic *stert, from Proto-Germanic *stertaz (“tail”). Cognate with Scots start, stairt (“side post, shaft, upright post”), Dutch staart (“tail”), German Sterz (“tail, handle”), Danish stjert (“tail of a bird”), Faroese stertur (“tail”), Icelandic stertur (“short horse tail”), Norn skjårt (“tail”), sterti (“tail of a large fish”), stjårt (“tail of a large fish”), Norwegian stjert (“tail of a bird”), Swedish stjärt (“tail, arse”).

      Noun

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      start (plural starts)

      1. A projection or protrusion; that which pokes out.
      2. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water wheel bucket.
        • 1845, Captain R.E. Crawley, Description of a Water-Course, Wharf, and Water-Wheel, erected at Waltham Abbey, Essex […] :
          The fall of water is 6 feet, and the radius of the curve is 8 feet, from the centre of the water-wheel to the extreme point of the start.
      3. The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.
        • 1834, William Andrus Alcott, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Parley's Magazine, page 364:
          ... horses, a number of men who seemed to acquire strength as the necessity for it increased, applied their shoulders to the starts, or shafts of the gin, and worked it with extraordinary speed. By twelve o'clock, thirty-two […]
        • 1854, Glynn, Rudimentary Treatise on the Construction of Cranes and Machinery for Raising Heavy Bodies, page 13:
          […] so that the horse may not expend his force in an oblique direction, but get a fair pull on the "starts."
        • 1973, Industrial Archaeology, page 254:
          With iron posts it is of course impossible to mortise in the starts and they were bolted between two cast-iron plates instead. The inclined stays were bolted to a […]
      Derived terms
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      Etymology 4

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      Variant of stark.[1]

      Adverb

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      start (comparative more start, superlative most start)

      1. (dialectal, archaic) Completely, utterly.
        • 1828 August 22, “Militia System”, in The New England Farmer, volume VII, Boston, M.A.: John B. Russell, published 1829, page 40, column 1:
          Col.—The age has no sense—the people are start mad—as mad as a March mare. We should have fine times, indeed if our laws did'nt compel the poor people to protect the property of the rich.

      References

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      1. ^ “start, adv.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

      Anagrams

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      Breton

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      Adjective

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      start

      1. firm, strong
      2. difficult

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      • Herve Ar Bihan, Colloquial Breton, pages 16 and 268: define "start" as "hard, difficult, firm"

      Crimean Tatar

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from English start.

      Noun

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      start

      1. start

      Declension

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      Declension of start
      nominative start
      genitive startnıñ
      dative startqa
      accusative startnı
      locative startta
      ablative starttan

      References

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      • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[3], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

      Czech

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      Etymology

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      Etymology tree
      Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan
      Old English styrtan
      Middle English stertendeverb.
      Middle English stert
      English startbor.
      Czech start

        Borrowed from English start.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        start m inan

        1. start (beginning point of a race)

        Declension

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        Declension of start (hard masculine inanimate)
        singular plural
        nominative start starty
        genitive startu startů
        dative startu startům
        accusative start starty
        vocative starte starty
        locative startu startech
        instrumental startem starty
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        See also

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        Further reading

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        Danish

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from English start.

        Noun

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        start c (singular definite starten, plural indefinite starter)

        1. start

        Inflection

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        Declension of start
        common
        gender         		singular plural
        indefinite definite indefinite definite
        nominative start starten starter starterne
        genitive starts startens starters starternes

        Verb

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        start

        1. imperative of starte

        Dutch

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        Pronunciation

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        Etymology 1

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        Borrowed from English start.

        Noun

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        start m (plural starts, diminutive startje n)

        1. start
        Derived terms
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        Etymology 2

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        See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

        Verb

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        start

        1. inflection of starten:
          1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
          2. imperative

        German

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        Pronunciation

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        Verb

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        start

        1. singular imperative of starten

        Indonesian

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from Dutch start, from English start.

        Pronunciation

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        Verb

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        start

        1. synonym of memulai
        2. synonym of berangkat

        Noun

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        start (plural start-start)

        1. start (the beginning point of a race, a board game, etc.)
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        Further reading

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        Maltese

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        Pronunciation

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        Verb

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        start

        1. first/second-person singular perfect of satar

        Norwegian Bokmål

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        Etymology 1

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        Borrowed from English start.

        Noun

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        start m (definite singular starten, indefinite plural starter, definite plural startene)

        1. a start
          fra start til mål ― from start to finish
        Derived terms
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        Etymology 2

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        Verb

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        start

        1. imperative of starte

        References

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        Norwegian Nynorsk

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from English start.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        start m (definite singular starten, indefinite plural startar, definite plural startane)

        1. a start (beginning)

        Verb

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        start

        1. imperative of starta

        Derived terms

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        References

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        Polish

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        Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia pl

        Etymology

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        Etymology tree
        Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan
        Old English styrtan
        Middle English stertendeverb.
        Middle English stert
        English startbor.
        Polish start

          Borrowed from English start.

          Pronunciation

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          Noun

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          start m inan

          1. (sports) start (beginning of a race)
          2. (aviation) takeoff
            Z niecierpliwością czekałam na start samolotu do Paryża.
            I was impatiently waiting for the plane to Paris to take off/for its take-off.
          3. participation
            Większość kibiców ucieszyła się, że zdecydował się on na start w zawodach.
            Most fans were happy to hear that he had decided to take part in the competition.

          Declension

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          Declension of start
          singular plural
          nominative start starty
          genitive startu startów
          dative startowi startom
          accusative start starty
          instrumental startem startami
          locative starcie startach
          vocative starcie starty

          Derived terms

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          Further reading

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          • “start”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[4] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
          • “start”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[5] (in Polish)

          Portuguese

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          Etymology

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          Etymology tree
          Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan
          Old English styrtan
          Middle English stertendeverb.
          Middle English stert
          English startubor.
          Portuguese start

            Unadapted borrowing from English start.

            Noun

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            start m (plural starts)

            1. alternative form of estarte

            Romanian

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            Etymology

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            Borrowed from English start.

            Noun

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            start n (plural starturi)

            1. start (of a race)

            Declension

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            singular plural
            indefinite definite indefinite definite
            nominative-accusative start startul starturi starturile
            genitive-dative start startului starturi starturilor
            vocative startule starturilor

            Swedish

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            Etymology

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            Borrowed from English start.

            Pronunciation

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            Noun

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            start c

            1. a start; a beginning (of a race)
            2. the starting (of an engine)

            Declension

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            Declension of start
            nominative genitive
            singular indefinite start starts
            definite starten startens
            plural indefinite starter starters
            definite starterna starternas

            Derived terms

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            References

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            Anagrams

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            Turkish

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            Etymology

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            Borrowed from English start.

            Pronunciation

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            • IPA(key): [staɾt]
            • Hyphenation: start

            Noun

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            start (definite accusative startı, plural startlar)

            1. start

            Usage notes

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            Turkish phonotactics disallows complex syllable onsets, thus speakers may epenthesize a vowel after the first consonant, pronouncing it as [sɯtaɾt].

            Declension

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            Declension of start
            singular plural
            nominative start startlar
            definite accusative startı startları
            dative starta startlara
            locative startta startlarda
            ablative starttan startlardan
            genitive startın startların
            Possessive forms
            nominative
            singular plural
            1st singular startım startlarım
            2nd singular startın startların
            3rd singular startı startları
            1st plural startımız startlarımız
            2nd plural startınız startlarınız
            3rd plural startları startları
            definite accusative
            singular plural
            1st singular startımı startlarımı
            2nd singular startını startlarını
            3rd singular startını startlarını
            1st plural startımızı startlarımızı
            2nd plural startınızı startlarınızı
            3rd plural startlarını startlarını
            dative
            singular plural
            1st singular startıma startlarıma
            2nd singular startına startlarına
            3rd singular startına startlarına
            1st plural startımıza startlarımıza
            2nd plural startınıza startlarınıza
            3rd plural startlarına startlarına
            locative
            singular plural
            1st singular startımda startlarımda
            2nd singular startında startlarında
            3rd singular startında startlarında
            1st plural startımızda startlarımızda
            2nd plural startınızda startlarınızda
            3rd plural startlarında startlarında
            ablative
            singular plural
            1st singular startımdan startlarımdan
            2nd singular startından startlarından
            3rd singular startından startlarından
            1st plural startımızdan startlarımızdan
            2nd plural startınızdan startlarınızdan
            3rd plural startlarından startlarından
            genitive
            singular plural
            1st singular startımın startlarımın
            2nd singular startının startlarının
            3rd singular startının startlarının
            1st plural startımızın startlarımızın
            2nd plural startınızın startlarınızın
            3rd plural startlarının startlarının

            Antonyms

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