alternate vs change

alternate

noun
  • A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty. 

  • A replacement of equal or greater value or function. 

  • A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means. 

  • That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. 

  • Figures or tinctures that succeed each other by turns. 

adj
  • Other; alternative. 

  • Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence 

  • Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second. 

  • Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly) 

verb
  • To vary by turns. 

  • To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly. 

  • To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation. 

  • To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with. 

change

noun
  • A replacement. 

  • The process of becoming different. 

  • A change-up pitch. 

  • An amount of cash, usually in the form of coins, but sometimes inclusive of paper money. 

  • Small denominations of money given in exchange for a larger denomination. 

  • Balance of money returned from the sum paid after deducting the price of a purchase. 

  • A transfer between vehicles. 

  • Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale. 

verb
  • To replace one's clothing. 

  • To replace the clothing of (the one wearing it). 

  • To change hand while riding (a horse). 

  • To transfer to another vehicle (train, bus, etc.) 

  • To become something different. 

  • To make something into something else. 

  • To replace. 

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