the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. Act of beginning; commencement; inception.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The act of beginning; inception; rudimentary state.
Word Usage
"Each advance in human knowledge should then be an infinitesimal approach towards the supreme comprehension; and the aspiring race of man is justified in that inchoation of long hope which is folly to the single life."