Between vs Above - What's the difference?
between | above |
In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the Usage notes below.)
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:
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*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between ; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= Done together or reciprocally.
:
*{{quote-book, year=1935, author=
, title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1
, passage=She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.}}
Shared in confidence.
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In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).
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Combined (by effort or ownership).
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:
One of (representing a choice).
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:
A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.
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.
As prepositions the difference between between and above
is that between is in the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree (see the usage notes below) while above is physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.As nouns the difference between between and above
is that between is a kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics while above is heaven.As an adverb above is
directly overhead; vertically on top of.As an adjective above is
of heaven; heavenly.between
English
Alternative forms
* betweene (archaic) * betwene (archaic) * (abbreviation)Preposition
(English prepositions)Geothermal Energy, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}
George Goodchild
Usage notes
* Some groups of non-native speakers confuse between'' and ''among''. It is sometimes said that ''between'' usually applies to two things, while ''among'' applies to more than two things. This is not correct; according to the Oxford English Dictionary (quoted at http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/chesson/between_and_among.htm) "In all senses, ''between'' has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two. In OE. and ME. it was so extended in sense 1, in which ''among'' is now considered better. It is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, ''among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely: we should not say ‘the space lying among the three points,’ or ‘a treaty among three powers,’ or ‘the choice lies among the three candidates in the select list,’ or ‘to insert a needle among the closed petals of a flower".Synonyms
* atween (archaic) * atwixDerived terms
* (between)See also
* betwixt * amongNoun
(en noun)Statistics
*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 .