onset

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈɑnˌsɛt/ UK /ˈɒnsɛt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the beginning or start of something, often unpleasant

At the onset of winter, the birds began their long migration south.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the beginning or start of... beginning start commencement outset inception onslaught dawn

Opposites

end conclusion close finish cessation

Word family

Related forms set onslaught outset

Etymology

A 16th-century English compound of 'on' plus 'set', originally meaning 'an assault, attack' (a setting-on), later generalized to 'a beginning'.

on Old English settan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# onset

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɑnˌsɛt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɒnsɛt/

## Meanings
1. the beginning or start of something, often unpleasant

## Examples
- At the onset of winter, the birds began their long migration south.

## Synonyms
- beginning
- start
- commencement
- outset
- inception
- onslaught
- dawn

## Antonyms
- end
- conclusion
- close
- finish
- cessation

## Related Forms
- set
- onslaught
- outset

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: on
- Root: settan

## Etymology
A 16th-century English compound of 'on' plus 'set', originally meaning 'an assault, attack' (a setting-on), later generalized to 'a beginning'.

## AI Etymology
Onset is a 16th-century English compound of 'on' plus 'set', originally meaning 'an assault, attack' (a setting-on), later generalized to 'a beginning'. The compound structure is semantically important: one element narrows the setting, direction, or quality, and the other supplies the object, action, or base idea. As a noun, it denotes "the beginning or start of something, often unpleasant", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English on and Old English settan. Related words include set, onslaught, outset.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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