Crossword Genius

I ring haphazardly round first, as a beginning (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

origin

'a beginning' is the definition.
(origin is a kind of beginning)

'i ring haphazardly round first' is the wordplay.
'haphazardly' indicates an anagram.
'round' becomes 'o' (round can mean a round object**).
'first' says to put letters next to each other.
'i'+'ring'='iring'
'iring' with letters rearranged gives 'rigin'.
'rigin' put after 'o' is 'ORIGIN'.

'as' is the link.

(Other definitions for origin that I've seen before include "Square one" , "Source - provenance" , "Where X meets Y" , "Beginning, starting point" , "First thing" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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