Started to plead for article (5)
I believe the answer is:
began
'started' is the definition.
('begin' can be a synonym of 'start')
'plead for article' is the wordplay.
'plead' becomes 'beg' (begging is a kind of pleading).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'article' becomes 'an' (indefinite article).
'beg'+'an'='BEGAN'
'to' is the link.
(Another definition for began that I've seen is " Commenced, started".)
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