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Why do caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing?

Why does caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing?

  • Answer:

    They do not mean the same thing. A caregiver is an individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social worker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability, or an individual, such as a parent, foster parent, or head of a household, who attends to the needs of a child or dependent adult. A caretaker is a person who is in charge of the maintenance of a building, estate, etc (e.g. superintendent) or a person or group that temporarily performs the duties of an office. Essentially the difference is a caregiver takes care of people, while a caretaker takes care of things.

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Give care and take care of... That's the problem with the English language, we have more words than any other, probably because we are made of of people from so many other countries and they wanted to adapt the language more to that of their homeland. Lawyers love it. They use the vocabulary to confuse as well as to charge their clients by the word.

Phoenix / Deity

A caregiver is someone who is responsible for looking after another person, for example, a person who is disabled, ill or very young.In American English, he is also known as a caretaker.It has the same meaning in British English also. In British English, a caretaker is a person whose job is to look after a large building such as a school, or a block of flats and deal with small repairs to it. A caretaker government or leader is in charge temporarily until a new leader or government is appointed. ex...The military intends to handover power to a caretaker government and hold elections within six months. The two words mean the same in American English only. *

yogeshwargarg

Caregiver is an individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social worker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability. Caretaker is one that is employed to look after or take charge of goods, property, or a person; somewhat like a custodian. So technically, they are not the same. Caregiver has more medical knowledge (not necessarily medically-schooled) than a caretaker - and some are required to have some medical background training.

ED

Caregiver, is a person who gives care to a live person such as feeding, and general hygiene. Caretaker, is person who takes care of a physical thing, such as a garden. The term caretaker is often used for a mortician, that's why caregiver should only refer to care for a live person.

Victoria Y

I see a caregiver as someone who takes car of another human, while a caretaker takes care of someone's property.

VikingLord

It varies from culture to culture as to which word they prefer to use.

RainCloud

Just another play on words.

jimi4950

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