Commence, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Commenced; p. pr. & vb. n. Commencing.]
Etymology: [F. commencer, OF. commencier, fr. L. com- + initiare to begin. See Initiate.]
1. To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin. Here the anthem doth commence. Shak. His heaven commences ere the world be past. Goldsmith.
2. To begin to be, or to act as. [Archaic] We commence judges ourselves. Coleridge.
3. To take a degree at a university. [Eng.] I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age. Fuller.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Commence, v. t.
To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of. Many a wooer doth commence his suit. Shak.
Note: It is the practice of good writers to use the verbal noun (instead of the infinitive with to) after commence; as, he commenced studying, not he commenced to study.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists commence only as an antonym, under cease.
Where he writes about it:
The Latin commencement is more formal than the Saxon beginning, as the verb commence, is more formal than begin. — from beginning
If we were to speak of the commencement of the Pacific Railroad, we should be understood to refer to the enterprise and its initiatory act; if we were to refer to the roadway we should say "Here is the beginning of the Pacific Railroad." In the great majority of cases begin and beginning are preferable to commence and commencement as the simple, idiomatic English words, always accurate and expressive. — from beginning