BACKGROUND

I. noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1672 1. the scenery or ground behind something, the part of a painting representing what lies behind objects in the foreground, an inconspicuous position, 3. the conditions that form the setting within which something is experienced, b. the circumstances or events antecedent to a phenomenon or development, information essential to understanding of a problem or situation, the total of a person's experience, knowledge, and education, 4. intrusive sound or radiation that interferes with received or recorded electronic signals, a more or less steady level of noise above which the effect (as radioactivity) being measured by an apparatus (as a Geiger counter) is detected, a level of computer processing at which the processor uses time not required for a primary task to work on an additional task, Synonyms: see: ~ II. transitive verb Date: 1768 to provide with ~