onset

[on-set, awn-] /ˈɒnˌsɛt, ˈɔn-/
noun
1.
a beginning or start:
the onset of winter.
2.
an assault or attack:
an onset of the enemy.
3.
Phonetics. the segment of a syllable preceding the nucleus, as the gr in great.
Compare coda (def 5), core1 (def 14).
Origin
1525-35; on + set, after the verb phrase set on
Examples from the web for onset
  • Please publish more stories on early onset to make people aware of the existence of this form of the disease.
  • The whole situation was badly dealt with from the onset.
  • With the onset of her first period, her reign will end and she will return to mortal status.
  • The bursting blooms of many types of flowers herald the onset of spring.
  • They need ample moisture from onset of growth through bloom period but little moisture during summer.
  • Another promising area for research is that delay between the loss of dopamine-producing cells and the onset of symptoms.
  • Symptoms can develop gradually or have a sudden onset.
  • Top of them is the onset of global population ageing.
  • The latest, more speculative date did mark the onset of a transition to much colder, arid conditions.
  • Now a new study has confirmed a strong correlation between certain types of migraines and the onset of menstruation.
British Dictionary definitions for onset

onset

/ˈɒnˌsɛt/
noun
1.
an attack; assault
2.
a start; beginning
Word Origin and History for onset
n.

1530s, "attack, assault," from on + set (n.); cf. to set (something) on (someone). Weaker sense of "beginning, start" first recorded 1560s. Figurative use in reference to a calamity, disease, etc. is from 1580s.

onset in Medicine

onset on·set (ŏn'sět')
n.
A beginning; a start, as of a cold.