Some English words may confuse English learners due to similar appearances in spelling. However, they differ in their meaning and sounds. So, such phrases cannot be synonyms or homophones. Incident and incidence are two such phrases that appear slightly similar in spellings. Both the words cannot be flip-flopped while using. Otherwise, miscommunication will happen.
Incident vs Incidence
The main difference between incident and incidence is that the word incident refers to the happening of some event. On the other hand, the English word incidence is majorly a medical term that indicates how many times particular incidents have taken place at a specific time. The word incident is both a noun and an adjective. However, the phrase incidence is a noun.
The word incident was derived from the French language since the fifteenth century. It means that something has happened. In the physics context, this word describes the radiation or the particles. So, it can fall under two parts of speech (noun and adjective). Moreover, this word can be employed in both positive and negative situations.
The English word incidence was also borrowed from the old French words in the 15th century. It means how quickly or slowly anything (disease or crime) can appear. Moreover, the phrase incidence is also used in calculations or graphs. So, this word acts as a noun in terms of parts of speech.
Comparison Table Between Incident and Incidence
What is an Incident?
The word incident became part of the English language in the early 1400s. It has different meanings in several aspects. It was taken from the French word. An incident in English means to describe what was notable or distressing that had happened.
In short, we can say that incident means something unusable. For example, if people have planned to go somewhere. However, due to some circumstances, they could not make it. It means the plan did not go well. The narrative will narrate such things as an incident.
So, the incident can be cheerful or stressful. Suppose we wanted to go to our favorite restaurant but, due to lack of space, we had to visit some other outlet. In this condition, dining in an unplanned restaurant can be an excellent experience or a nightmare.
On coming back or whenever we are free, we tend to explain the whole scenario to our people. The entire scenario is an incident. When we describe the light of the particle (low or sharp), it is also an incident. Here, it acts as an adjective.
We must learn the usage of the word incident in making sentences.
The sentence we can make:
- Morning, a heart throbbing incident took place.
- Please describe to me the incident that happened last month.
- The light of the incident is short.
What is Incidence?
The word incidence is also a part of the English language. Its origin is similar to that of the word incident. Moreover, it also became an English word in the 15th century. The phrase incident signifies how often an event can happen.
An event is usually related to the medical or law field. It can refer to the frequency or likelihood of any contagious or non-contagious virus, flu, or disease.
Supposedly, we are writing the statistics of robbery of an area. So, the word incidence means at what rate the robbery took place. How many times it has been reported.
In short, when we are informing someone about how many times an incident took place, the English word for that is incidence. The word incidence is also part of maths or physics for calculating the angle of incidence.
By learning in writing, we can learn to distinguish the meaning of the term incidence from the phrase incident. The sentences we can make using incidence are:
- The incidences of murder at night have increased in Delhi.
- In 2009, many incidences of swine flu took place.
- Find out the angle of incidence.
In the first two sentences, the word incidence is used as a part of English, and in the third sentence, it is as a part of mathematics.
Main Differences Between Incident and Incidence
- The word incident means highlighting or discussing crucial events. On the other hand, the phrase incidence means how often or frequently that vital event occurs.
- The phrase incident can refer to any memorable event (good or bad). On the contrary, the term incidence refers to the probability of bad events.
- The word incident can fall into either noun or adjective. On the other side, the word incidence is utilized as a noun only.
- We can use the term incident in a sentence if we say, “She told about her embarrassing incidents.” On the other hand, in a sentence, we can use the word incidence as The incidences of car accidents have reduced after installing speed breakers.
- We can use the phrase incident in English and science subjects. However, the term incidence is used in English, science, and maths.
Conclusion
While learning the vocabulary of any language, we must pay attention to the spelling and meaning. There can be some words that might confuse us because of being a little similar in sentences. The terms (incident and incidence) are somewhat similar in spelling as they share the same prefix. Moreover, both the words are taken from French words.
However, they are very distinct in meaning. We can never use these words as synonyms while writing or in conversation. The word incident means defining different events that someone experienced. On the other hand, the term incidence refers to how often a similar event or incident happens.
References
- https://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Fulltext/2008/05000/Does_Second_Impact_Syndrome_Exist_.2.aspx
- https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article-abstract/72/4/528/2630050