ABSTRACT
In English, the word "care" is highly ambiguous. Its interpretation in any particular linguistic situation may vary between the speaker and hearer, the writer and reader, the caregiver and the care recipient. Its meaning is shaded by social status, differently interpreted by men and women, by poor and wealthy, by personal experiences of dependency and of providing assistance to others, and by implicit understandings of how the universe, and human society in particular, operate. The term is also significantly different for scholars, administrators, and professionals depending on their disciplinary background.
