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Birth vs Background - What's the difference?

birth | background | Synonyms |

Birth is a synonym of background.


As nouns the difference between birth and background

is that birth is (uncountable) the process of childbearing; the beginning of life while background is one's social heritage; what one did in the past/previously.

As verbs the difference between birth and background

is that birth is (dated|or|regional) to bear or give birth to (a child) while background is to put in a position that is not prominent.

As an adjective birth

is a familial relationship established by childbirth.

birth

English

Noun

  • (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
  • (countable) An instance of childbirth.
    • Intersex babies account for roughly one per cent of all births .
  • (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.
    • the birth of an empire
  • (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
    • He was of noble birth , but fortune had not favored him.
  • * Prescott
    • elected without reference to birth , but solely for qualifications
  • That which is born.
  • * Ben Jonson
    • Poets are far rarer births than kings.
  • * Addison
    • Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself.

    • Antonyms

    * (beginning of life) death

    References

    Adjective

    (-)
  • A familial relationship established by childbirth.
    • Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

    Synonyms

    * biological, blood, consanguineous

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (dated, or, regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).
  • * 1939 ,
    • "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!"
  • (figuratively) To produce, give rise to.
  • * 2006 , R. Bruce Hull, Infinite Nature , University of Chicago Press, ISBN 9780226359441, page 156:
    • Biological evolution created a human mind that enabled cultural evolution, which now outpaces and outclasses the force that birthed it.

    Usage notes

    * The term is much more common, especially in literal use.

    Related terms

    * bear * born

    Derived terms

    * accident of birth * birth control * birthdate * birthday * birthing * birth mother * birth pangs * birth parent * birth pill * birthplace * birthrate * birthright * birthstone * birth tourism * breech birth * give birth * noble birth * virgin birth 1000 English basic words ----

    background

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One's social heritage; what one did in the past/previously.
  • A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= William E. Conner
    • , title= 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
  • Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
  • A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).
  • (computing) The image or color, over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
  • (computing) Activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

    • Derived terms

    * on background * background fodder

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To put in a position that is not prominent