abate vs fall

abate

verb
  • To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate. 

  • Of a writ or other legal document: to become null and void; to cease to have effect. 

  • To make (a writ or other legal document) void; to nullify. 

  • To lower (something) in price or value. 

  • To put an end to (a nuisance). 

  • To cut away or hammer down (material from metalwork, a sculpture, etc.) in such a way as to leave a figure in relief. 

  • To decrease in amount or size. 

  • To lower in price or value; (law) specifically, of a bequest in a will: to lower in value because the testator's estate is insufficient to satisfy all the bequests in full. 

  • Of legal proceedings: to be dismissed or otherwise brought to an end before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits. 

  • To decrease in force or intensity; to subside. 

  • To enter upon and unlawfully seize (land) after the owner has died, thus preventing an heir from taking possession of it. 

  • To dismiss or otherwise bring to an end (legal proceedings) before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits. 

  • To reduce (something) in amount or size. 

noun
  • An Italian abbot or other member of the clergy. 

fall

verb
  • To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.). 

  • To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated. 

  • To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face. 

  • To come as if by dropping down. 

  • To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry. 

  • To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); to happen. 

  • To become. 

  • To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity. 

  • To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon). 

  • To be dropped or uttered carelessly. 

  • To be brought to the ground. 

  • To die, especially in battle or by disease. 

  • To hang down (under the influence of gravity). 

  • To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself. 

  • To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before. 

  • To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance. 

  • To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin. 

  • To come down, to drop or descend. 

intj
  • The cry given when a whale is sighted, or harpooned. 

noun
  • A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc. 

  • The action of a batsman being out. 

  • The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural). 

  • An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells. 

  • The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity. 

  • An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat. 

  • A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker. 

  • The lid, on a piano, that covers the keyboard 

  • A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction. 

  • A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss. 

  • Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed. 

  • The chasing of a hunted whale. 

  • A loss of greatness or status. 

  • That which falls or cascades. 

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