The period will start in 15 minutes. vs I can barely remember the beginning of the period. Start has the sense of being a fixed point in time, while beginning could possibly refer to any time between the start and the halfway point.

Understanding the Context

The beginning of the century is a period of time which is short compared to the century but rather long otherwise; Some people may use this phrase to mean the first decade or even longer. I might say "At the beginning of the 20th Century women generally couldn't vote but by the end of World War II many nations had granted them this right". "At the beginning of the century" or "in the beginning of the century"? Are both expressions "At the beginning" "In the beginning" valid and equivalent?

Key Insights

The first "seems wrong" to me, but it has more Google results. word choice - "At the beginning" or "in the beginning"? - English ... Begin at the beginning, the King said, very gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop. The "go on in till you come to the end" seems to suggest hard work and determination till you reach your goal.

Final Thoughts

But I feel I'm missing a few nuances here—in particular, the significance of "gravely" and "stop". How would you interpret this quote? Interpreting "Begin at the beginning, the King said, very gravely, and ... The word "prefix" describes something affixed to the beginning of a word and the word "suffix" describes something affixed to the end of a word. What is the analog of these for