FromMiddle Englishbiginning,beginninge,beginnunge, equivalent tobegin +-ing.
beginning (countable anduncountable,pluralbeginnings)
“In the beginning” is an idiomatic expression that means “at first, initially”; it does not mean the same as “at the beginning”.
The meaning of “at the beginning” is clear from its parts. This expression is used to refer to the time when or place where something starts; it is used to refer to points in time and space and also to fairly long periods of time and fairly large extents of space. (“At the beginning of the story” can be used to refer to both the first few sentences and to the first chapter or chapters. “At the beginning of the trail” can be used to refer to both the first few meters and the first part of a trail, which can be quite substantial, even a fifth or fourth or more.)
The originally rare and traditionally deprecated usage of “in the beginning of” (instead of “at the beginning of”) has become more common but is still ignored by most dictionaries and other authorities or labeled as unidiomatic or incorrect. Interestingly, there is only rarely confusion between the parallel expressions “in the end” and “at the end (of)”.
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FromMiddle Englishbegynnyng,bygynnynge, FromOld English*beginnende (attested only asOld Englishonginnende), fromProto-Germanic*biginnandz, present participle ofProto-Germanic*biginnaną(“to begin”), equivalent tobegin +-ing.
beginning
beginning (notcomparable)
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