Polyglot Dictionary

principiar

/pɾinsiˈpjaɾ/

verb C1

el (masc.) la (fem.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Academic Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

present (yo)
principio
preterite (yo)
principié
past participle
principiado

Meaning

  1. to begin

    • Principió su discurso.

      He began his speech.

V Category Action Concreteness Concrete Agency Voluntary Duration Punctual Transitivity Transitive

Similar words

comenzar

principiar is a more literary or archaic synonym for "to begin"; comenzar is the standard word.

empezar

principiar is a more literary or archaic synonym for "to begin"; empezar is the standard, everyday word.

Similar in other languages

French

commencer

commencer is the French word for the same thing — both mean "to begin."

Portuguese

começar

começar is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "to begin."

Practice

1 What does principiar mean?

2 Which fingerprint chart matches principiar?

verb

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