In the beginning, you might say, was genesis. The name given to the first book of the Old Testament describes the creation of Adam and Eve along with the earth and the heavens. The book even begins with the words "In the beginning," making genesis the ne plus ultra, perhaps, of beginning words.
Genesis derives via Latin from the Greek gignesthai, meaning "to be born," and can refer to the origin or beginning of anything from a heavenly body to an idea.
The genesis and maturation of a planet, its poise and orbit, the bended tree recovering itself from the strong wind, the vital resources of every animal and vegetable, are demonstrations of the self-sufficing, and therefore self-relying soul.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," 1841