Commencement

[kuh-mens-muh nt] /kəˈmɛns mənt/

noun
1.
an act or instance of ; beginning:
the commencement of hostilities.
2.
the ceremony of conferring degrees or granting diplomas at the end of the academic year.
3.
the day on which this ceremony takes place.
/kəˈmɛnsmənt/
noun
1.
the beginning; start
2.

late 13c., “beginning,” from Old French comencement “beginning, start” (Modern French commencement), from comencier (see commence). Meaning “school graduation ceremony” attested by 1850, American English. (Sense “entrance upon the privileges of a master or doctor in a university” is from late 14c.)

I know what you are thinking of — the class members grouped in a semicircle on the stage, the three scared boys in new ready-made black suits, the seventeen pretty girls in fluffy white dresses (the gowns of the year), each senior holding a ribbon-tied manuscript bulging with thoughts on “Beyond the Alps Lies Italy,” “Our Ship is Launched — Whither Shall it Sail?” and similar topics. [Charles Moreau Harger, “The Real Commencement,” “New Outlook,” May 8, 1909]

Read Also:

Commences
[kuh-mens] /kəˈmɛns/ verb (used with or without object), commenced, commencing. 1. to begin; start. /kəˈmɛns/ verb 1. to start or begin; come or cause to come into being, operation, etc v. c.1300, from Old French comencier “to begin, start” (10c., Modern French commencer), from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare, originally “to initiate as priest, consecrate,” from Latin […]
Commencing
[kuh-mens] /kəˈmɛns/ verb (used with or without object), commenced, commencing. 1. to begin; start. /kəˈmɛns/ verb 1. to start or begin; come or cause to come into being, operation, etc v. c.1300, from Old French comencier “to begin, start” (10c., Modern French commencer), from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare, originally “to initiate as priest, consecrate,” from Latin […]
Commend
[kuh-mend] /kəˈmɛnd/ verb (used with object) 1. to present, mention, or praise as worthy of confidence, notice, kindness, etc.; recommend: to commend a friend to another; to commend an applicant for employment. 2. to entrust; give in charge; deliver with confidence: I commend my child to your care. 3. to cite or name with approval […]

Commendable
[kuh-men-duh-buh l] /kəˈmɛn də bəl/ adjective 1. worthy of praise: She did a commendable job of informing all the interested parties. adj. mid-14c., from Middle French commendable, from Latin commendabilis “praiseworthy,” from commendare (see commend). Related: Commendably.
Commendably
[kuh-men-duh-buh l] /kəˈmɛn də bəl/ adjective 1. worthy of praise: She did a commendable job of informing all the interested parties. adj. mid-14c., from Middle French commendable, from Latin commendabilis “praiseworthy,” from commendare (see commend). Related: Commendably.