Background vs. Origin

Backgroundadjective

Less important in a scene.

‘background noise.’;

Originnoun

The beginning of something.

Backgroundnoun

One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.

‘The lawyer had a background in computer science.’;

Originnoun

The source of a river, information, goods, etc.

Backgroundnoun

A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.

Originnoun

(mathematics) The point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect.

Backgroundnoun

Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.

Originnoun

(anatomy) The proximal end of attachment of a muscle to a bone that will not be moved by the action of that muscle.

Backgroundnoun

A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).

‘There was tons of noise in the background.’; ‘The photographer let us pick a background for the portrait.’;

Originnoun

(cartography) An arbitrary point on Earth's surface, chosen as the zero for a system of coordinates.

Backgroundnoun

(computing) The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).

Originnoun

(in the plural) Ancestry.

Backgroundnoun

(computing) A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

‘The antivirus program is running in the background.’;

Originnoun

The first existence or beginning of anything; the birth.

‘This mixed system of opinion and sentiment had its origin in the ancient chivalry.’;

Backgroundverb

To put in a position that is not prominent.

Originnoun

That from which anything primarily proceeds; the fountain; the spring; the cause; the occasion.

Backgroundverb

(journalism) To gather and provide background information (on).

Originnoun

The point of attachment or end of a muscle which is fixed during contraction; - in contradistinction to insertion.

‘I think he would have set out just as he did, with the origin of ideas - the proper starting point of a grammarian, who is to treat of their signs.’; ‘Famous Greece,That source of art and cultivated thoughtWhich they to Rome, and Romans hither, brought.’;

Backgroundnoun

Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.

Originnoun

the place where something begins, where it springs into being;

‘the Italian beginning of the Renaissance’; ‘Jupiter was the origin of the radiation’; ‘Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River’; ‘communism's Russian root’;

Backgroundnoun

The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.

Originnoun

properties attributable to your ancestry;

‘he comes from good origins’;

Backgroundnoun

Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.

Originnoun

an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events

Backgroundnoun

A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.

‘I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss Torry could produce this highly finished . . . performance.’; ‘A husband somewhere in the background.’;

Originnoun

the point of intersection of coordinate axes; where the values of the coordinates are all zero

Backgroundnoun

The set of conditions within which an action takes place, including the social and physical conditions as well as the psychological states of the participants; as, within the background of the massive budget deficits of the 1980's, new spending programs had little chance of passage by the congress.

Originnoun

the descendants of one individual;

‘his entire lineage has been warriors’;

Backgroundnoun

The set of conditions that precede and affect an action, such as the social and historical precedents for the event, as well as the general background{5}; as, against the background of their expulsion by the Serbs, the desire of Kosovars for vengeance is understandable though regrettable.

Backgroundnoun

The signals that may be detected by a measurement which are not due to the phenomenon being studied, and tend to make the measurement uncertain to a greater or lesser degree.

Backgroundnoun

An agreement between a journalist and an interviewee that the name of the interviewee will not be quoted in any publication, although the substance of the remarks may be reported; - often used in the phrase "on background". Compare deep background.

Backgroundnoun

a person's social heritage: previous experience or training;

‘he is a lawyer with a sports background’;

Backgroundnoun

the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground;

‘he posed her against a background of rolling hills’;

Backgroundnoun

information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem;

‘the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident’;

Backgroundnoun

extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured;

‘they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals’;

Backgroundnoun

relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation;

‘when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background’;

Backgroundnoun

the state of the environment in which a situation exists;

‘you can't do that in a university setting’;

Backgroundnoun

(computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear

Backgroundnoun

scenery hung at back of stage

Backgroundverb

understate the importance or quality of;

‘he played down his royal ancestry’;

Backgroundnoun

the part of a picture, scene, or design that forms a setting for the main figures or objects, or appears furthest from the viewer

‘the word is written in white on a red background’; ‘the house stands against a background of sheltering trees’;

Backgroundnoun

a less important or conspicuous position or function

‘after that evening, she remained in the background’;

Backgroundnoun

used in reference to tasks or processes that do not need input from the user

‘programs can be left running in the background’;

Backgroundnoun

low-intensity radiation from radioisotopes present in the natural environment.

Backgroundnoun

unwanted signals, such as noise in the reception or recording of sound.

Backgroundnoun

the circumstances or situation prevailing at a particular time or underlying a particular event

‘the political and economic background’; ‘background information’;

Backgroundnoun

a person's education, experience, and social circumstances

‘she has a background in nursing’; ‘her voice suggested a tenacious, working-class background’;

Backgroundverb

form a background to

‘windswept land backgrounded by the Rockies’;

Backgroundverb

provide with background

‘the embassy backgrounded American reporters’;