Above vs Behind - What's the difference?
above | behind |
Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.
In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; — opposed to below'' or ''beneath .
* (rfdate) Translation of (Genesis) 2:20,
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=[http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/william-e-conner-1 William E. Conner]
, title=[http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2013/3/an-acoustic-arms-race An Acoustic Arms Race]
, volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist)
, passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
Farther north than.
Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
* (rfdate) (Marlowe),
* (rfdate) translation of 36:13,
Higher in rank, status, or position.
In addition to; besides.
Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred.
In preference to.
Too proud to stoop; averse to; disinclined; too honorable to give.
(theater) Upstage.
Beyond; on the other side.
Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
* {{quote-magazine, title=The climate of Tibet: Pole-land
, date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=80
, magazine=(The Economist)
, url=http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577341-worlds-third-largest-area-ice-about-undergo-systematic
, passage=Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.}}
Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
* (rfdate)
Into or from heaven; in the sky.
In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
Higher in rank, power, or position.
(archaic) In addition.
More in number.
Above zero; above freezing.
(biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
Of heaven; heavenly.
Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
Heaven.
Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
Higher authority.
Above is often used further elliptically as a noun by omitting the noun, where it is should be clear what is omitted.
At the back of.
*
*:But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Timothy Garton Ash)
, volume=189, issue=6, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= To the back of.
After, time- or motion-wise.
*1883 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Treasure Island)
*:About the center, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed - I tethered by my rope.
Responsible for.
In support of.
:
Left a distance by, in progress or improvement; inferior to.
:
*Bible, xi.5:
*:I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
At the back part; in the rear.
* Milton
Toward the back part or rear; backward.
Overdue, in arrears.
Slow; of a watch or clock.
existing afterwards
* Shakespeare
Backward in time or order of succession; past.
* Bible, Phil. ii. 13
Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
* 1890 , (Oscar Wilde), The Picture of Dorian Gray , Vintage 2007, p. 68:
(archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
* John Locke
the rear, back-end
butt, the buttocks, bottom
(Australian rules football) A one-point score.
* 1880 . "The Opening Ball" in Comic Australian Verse'', ed. G. Lehmann, 1975. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, ''A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms , second edition, 1985, (Sydney University Press), ISBN 0-424-00113-6.
The catcher.
In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).
In archaic terms the difference between above and behind
is that above is in addition while behind is not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.As prepositions the difference between above and behind
is that above is physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing while behind is at the back of.As adverbs the difference between above and behind
is that above is directly overhead; vertically on top of while behind is at the back part; in the rear.As nouns the difference between above and behind
is that above is heaven while behind is the rear, back-end.As an adjective above
is of heaven; heavenly.above
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)- Fowl that may fly above the earth.
- Thy worth […] is actions above my gifts.
- I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun.
Usage notes
* (surpassing in number or quantity) Passing into the adverbial sense.Derived terms
* above all * above average * above one's bend * above the law * above the salt * over and aboveAdverb
(-)- That was said above .
- He's in a better place now, floating free as the clouds ''above .
- He appealed to the court above .
- It was a cold day at only 5 above .
- The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.
Derived terms
* "Above" is also used as the first part of a compound in the sense of before'', ''previously''; as, ''above''-cited, ''above''-described, ''above''-mentioned, ''above''-named, ''above''-said, ''above''-specified, ''above''-written, ''above -given.Adjective
(-)Usage notes
* Above is often used elliptically as an adjective by omitting the word said'', ''mentioned'', ''quoted , or the like: ** the above (-said) observations ** the above (-cited) reference ** the above (-quoted) articlesNoun
(-)Usage notes
- See the above .
References
* Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8 * *behind
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli, passage=Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.}}
Synonyms
* in back of * to the rear ofAdverb
(en adverb)- I shall not lag behind .
- to look behind
- My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.
- I'm two weeks behind in my schedule.
- ''My watch is four minutes behind .
- He left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.
- He stayed behind after the war.
- Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, / And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind .
- forgetting those things which are behind
- ‘After the performance was over I went behind , and spoke to her.’
- We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind .
Usage notes
For usage in phrasal verbs, see Category: English phrasal verbs with particle "behind": .Noun
(en noun)- A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
For we've kicked another behind.