onset vs. outset

onset

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 ), core 1( def 14 ).

outset

noun

  1. the beginning or start:

    I wanted to explain the situation at the outset.