in the beginning

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

in the beginning
    adv 1: with reference to the origin or beginning [syn:
           {primitively}, {originally}, {in the beginning}]
    2: before now; "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"
       [syn: {in the first place}, {earlier}, {in the beginning},
       {to begin with}, {originally}]