background vs context

background

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

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

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

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

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

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

verb
  • To put in a position that is not prominent. 

  • To gather and provide background information (on). 

adj
  • Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system. 

context

noun
  • The surroundings, circumstances, environment, background or settings that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event or other occurrence. 

  • The text in which a word or passage appears and which helps ascertain its meaning. 

  • The trama or flesh of a mushroom. 

  • For a formula: a finite set of variables, which set contains all the free variables in the given formula. 

  • The surroundings and environment in which an artifact is found and which may provide important clues about the artifact's function and/or cultural meaning. 

How often have the words background and context occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )