-mənt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English commencement, comencement, from Old French comencement, from comencer + -ment
1. : the act, fact, or time of commencing (as of an era, season, career, or event)
2.
a. : the ceremonies at which or the day when degrees or diplomas are conferred by an educational institution
b. : the period of festivities at this time
3. : the part of a legal declaration that gives the parties and the capacities in which they sue or are sued and the necessary facts as to the summoning of the defendant and the form of action