empezar

en- + pieza, possibly through a Vulgar Latin root *impettiāre.

empezar (first-person singular indicative present empezo, past participle empezáu)

1. to begin, start

   Synonyms: entamar, apenzar, empecipiar, emprimar, aniciar, comenzar

• empeçar (reintegrationist)

empezar (first-person singular present empezo, first-person singular preterite empecei, past participle empezado)

1. to begin, to start

   Synonym: comezar

• empezo

• “empezar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012

From en- +‎ pieza +‎ -ar, possibly through a Vulgar Latin root *impettiāre.

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /empeˈθaɾ/ [ẽm.peˈθaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /empeˈsaɾ/ [ẽm.peˈsaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: em‧pe‧zar

empezar (first-person singular present empiezo, first-person singular preterite empecé, past participle empezado)

1. to start, begin, to get started

   Synonyms: comenzar, iniciar

2. (transitive with a) to start to

   Hace poco que empezó a comer vegetales.

   He recently started eating vegetables.

3. (transitive with por) to start by; to start with

   Sugiero que empecemos por reconocer que necesitamos más ayuda.

   I suggest that we start by acknowledging that we need more help.

   En español, pocas palabras empiezan por la letra ñ.

   In Spanish, few words begin with the letter ñ.

4. (transitive with con) to lead with, to open with
5. (reflexive) to be started

• “empezar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• “empezar” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN