beginning-n; 5 Senses

Sense Number 1: the inception or initial point of an event

Commentary: BEGINNING[+event][+punctual][+moment][+inception]
NOTE: Denotes a point in time, not a span of time

Examples:
The beginning of the race will be signaled by a gun shot.
The war's beginning took everyone by surprise.
Analysts agree that it marked the beginning of a bull market.
The beginning of the earthquake was recorded at 6:15 a.m. local time.

Mappings:
PropBank: beginning.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 5

Sense Number 2: early phase or span of some ongoing process

Commentary: BEGINNING[+process][+phase][+early]
NOTE: Implies a span of time, not just a single initial moment (Sense 1)

Examples:
Although the firm got off to a rocky beginning in its first year, it is now turning a profit.
During the beginning of our relationship we often met after work at a local tapas bar.
Even from the beginning of her career, one could see the signs of a great actress.
The beginning of school is always an adjustment for the children.

Mappings:
PropBank: beginning.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 2

Sense Number 3: origin, root or heritage of something

Commentary: BEGINNING[+location][+origin][+temporal/+spatial]
NOTE: Often occurs in the plural

Examples:
Pittsburgh is near the beginning of the Ohio River.
We are studying the beginnings of early humans in my anthropology class.
Their ongoing animosity had its beginnings in sibling rivalries from their childhood.
They are burying cable from the beginning of my property line to the end of the street.
We pondered the beginning of the universe and other cosmological questions over martinis.

Mappings:
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 4

Sense Number 4: the first section or part of a larger entity

Commentary: BEGINNING[+entity][+opus][+portion][+first]

Examples:
Do you remember how the beginning of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address goes?
The beginning of this soprano aria is about four minutes of difficult coloratura.
Sally hated the film's violent beginning, which lasts six minutes, but liked how the story unfolded.

Mappings:
PropBank: beginning.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 3

Sense Number 5: none of the above

Commentary: Automatically generated NOTA sense (bbn)

Examples:

Mappings:
PropBank: NM