aid vs handicap

aid

noun
  • Help; assistance; succor, relief. 

  • An historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort. 

  • A helper; an assistant. 

  • An exchequer loan. 

  • Something which helps; a material source of help. 

  • A pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions. 

  • The rider's use of hands, legs, voice, etc. to control the horse. 

verb
  • To climb with the use of aids such as pitons. 

  • To provide support to; to further the progress of; to help; to assist. 

handicap

noun
  • Something that prevents, hampers, or hinders. 

  • An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the competitor possessing disadvantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success. 

  • The disadvantage itself, in particular physical or mental disadvantages of people. 

  • A race or similar contest in which there is an allowance of time, distance, weight, or other advantage, to equalize the chances of the competitors. 

verb
  • To estimate betting odds. 

  • To encumber with a handicap in any contest. 

  • To place at disadvantage. 

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