alternate vs facing

alternate

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

  • 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. 

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. 

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. 

facing

adj
  • Diverging in the direction of travel. 

  • Positioned so as to face (in a particular direction) 

noun
  • Fabric applied to a garment edge on the underside. 

  • A powdered substance, such as charcoal or bituminous coal, applied to the face of a mould, or mixed with the sand that forms it, to give a fine smooth surface to the casting. 

  • The movement of soldiers by turning on their heels to the right, left, or about. 

  • The most external portion of exterior siding. 

  • The collar and cuffs of a military coat, commonly of a different colour from the rest of the coat. 

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