different between background vs incidental

English

Etymology

back +? ground

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bæk.??a?nd/

Adjective

background (not comparable)

1. Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

Antonyms

• conspicuous, foreground, forestanding, primary, prominent

Noun

background (countable and uncountable, plural backgrounds)

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

2. A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
3. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
4. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).

5. (computing) The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
6. (computing) A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

background (third-person singular simple present backgrounds, present participle backgrounding, simple past and past participle backgrounded)

1. To put in a position that is not prominent.
   • 2006, Paul Baker, Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis, page 163:

     One aspect of the story that appears interesting is that the alleged rapist and victim are only referred to by name together in the same sentence once. In all the other sentences, one receives more focus, while the other is backgrounded.

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

Spanish

Noun

background m (plural backgrounds)

1. background

English

Etymology

From incident +? -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ns??d?nt?l/, /?ns??d?nt?l/
  • (US) IPA^(key): (nasal flap) [?ns??d?.???l], (enunciated) [?ns??d?n.t??l]

Adjective

incidental (comparative more incidental, superlative most incidental)

1. Loosely associated; existing as a byproduct, tangent, or accident; being a likely consequence.

   That character, though colorful, is incidental to the overall plot.

2. Occurring by chance
3. (physics, of radiation) Entering or approaching, prior to reflection (more frequently incident).

Synonyms

• (existing as an accident): accidental, contingent; See also Thesaurus:circumstantial
• (occurring by chance): accidental, serendipitous; See also Thesaurus:accidental

Antonyms

• (existing as an accident): inevitable, necessary, impossible; See also Thesaurus:inevitable
• (occurring by chance): inevitable, intentional; See also Thesaurus:intentional

Derived terms

• incidental expense
• incidentally
• incidental music

Related terms

• incident
• incidence

Translations

Noun

incidental (plural incidentals)

1. Minor items, not further defined. Incidental expense.

   She's costing us a lot in incidentals.

2. Something that is incidental.

Translations

Anagrams

• anticlined

Portuguese

Adjective

incidental m or f (plural incidentais, comparable)

1. incidental (existing by chance)

Romanian

Etymology

From French incidentel

Adjective

incidental m or n (feminine singular incidental?, masculine plural incidentali, feminine and neuter plural incidentale)

1. incidental

Declension

Spanish

Adjective

incidental (plural incidentales)

1. incidental (existing by chance)