a beginning
Examples
Martyrdom does not end something, it only a beginning.
There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.
Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the second week. We are children of the eighth day.
Eating and scratching want but a beginning.
No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning.
Everything must have a beginning.