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Infancy vs Onset - What's the difference?

infancy | onset |

As nouns the difference between infancy and onset

is that infancy is the earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking) while onset is a rushing or setting upon; an attack; an assault; a storming; especially, the assault of an army.

As a verb onset is

(obsolete) to assault; to set upon.

infancy

English

Noun

(infancies)
  • The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).
  • The state of being an infant.
  • An early stage in the development of, eg, some technology.
  • (label) The state of being a minor.
  • onset

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A rushing or setting upon; an attack; an assault; a storming; especially, the assault of an army.
  • * (rfdate) (William Shakespeare),
  • The onset and retire / Of both your armies.
  • * (rfdate) (William Wordsworth),
  • Who on that day the word of onset gave.
  • (medicine) The initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.
  • (phonology) The initial portion of a syllable, preceding the syllable nucleus.
  • (acoustics) The beginning of a musical note or other sound, in which the amplitude rises from zero to an initial peak.
  • (obsolete) A setting about; a beginning.
  • * (rfdate) (Francis Bacon),
  • There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things.
  • (obsolete) Anything set on, or added, as an ornament or as a useful appendage.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=28, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= High and wet , passage=Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.}}
    (Shakespeare)
    (Johnson)

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To assault; to set upon.
  • (obsolete) To set about; to begin.