初始 is most commonly used as an adjective meaning 'initial' or 'first' (e.g., 初始阶段 'initial stage') or as a noun meaning 'the beginning'. However, the POS listed here is verb, which corresponds to a literary/archaic sense meaning 'to begin' or 'to start'. In modern Chinese, the verb usage is rare and mostly found in formal or classical contexts. The definitions and examples below follow the verb POS, but the row likely needs a POS correction to adjective/noun for practical use.