[Vocabulary] Anniversary vs. birthday

[rjacob]

Hello, Good afternoon !

I would like to know if is wrong, inadequate refer to birthday as an anniversary like:

my wife's anniversary.

Thank you !
Ricardo Jacob

 

[Barb_D]

In the US, it would be very puzzling. We would assume you mean the anniversary of your marriage, so why it would be your wife's anniversary but not yours would be a mystery.

There are other uses - for example, at my company, you get a gift on various milestone employment anniversaries, so if at a meeting, someone said "Today we want to recognize Kim's 5-year anniversary" we would know it meant she joined the company 5 years ago.

But it's never used for a birthday.

 

[Ouisch]

Very technically speaking, a birthday is the anniversary of one's birth. But it is rarely, if ever, referred to in that fashion. "Anniversary" is a word used to commemorate special occasions, like weddings, first dates, very large purchases ("Happy Anniversary! It was one year ago today that we bought this house together.") , things like that. Interestingly enough, even though we don't usually refer to birth dates as "anniversaries" we do use the word when referring to death dates. Not in a celebratory fashion, of course; some people just tend to keep track and mention something like "It's the fifth anniversary of my dad's death. I remember exactly what I was doing that day when the phone rang and my mom gave me the bad news."

 

[riquecohen]

It`s interesting to note that Ricardo is Brazilian. In Portuguese. aniversario is the word for birthday.

 

[BobK]

It`s interesting to note that Ricardo is Brazilian. In Portuguese. aniversario is the word for birthday.

There are similar cognates in French, Italian, Spanish.... The only link we have in English with the turning of the year ('anniversary') is when we say 'Many happy returns' (on someone's birthday).

b

 

[Barb_D]

when we say 'Many happy returns' (on someone's birthday).

b

As a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh, I know that he uses that phrase, but I've always wondered if modern-day BrE speakers use it too.

 

[BobK]

As a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh, I know that he uses that phrase, but I've always wondered if modern-day BrE speakers use it too.

Yes we do. What we don't say so much now - although I'd call it slightly old-fashioned rather than archaic - is the fuller version: 'many happy returns of the day'. But the shorter version is current and common.

b