alum vs master

alum

noun
  • A past attendee or graduate (of either gender) of a college, university or other educational institution. 

  • Any similar double sulphate in which either or both of the potassium and aluminium is wholly or partly replaced by other univalent or tervalent cations. 

  • An astringent salt, usually occurring in the form of pale crystals, much used in the dyeing and tanning trade and in certain medicines, and now understood to be a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium (K₂SO₄·Al₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O). 

verb
  • To steep in, or otherwise impregnate with, a solution of alum; to treat with alum. 

master

verb
  • To earn a Master's degree. 

  • To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue. 

  • To be a master. 

  • To learn to a high degree of proficiency. 

  • To make a master copy of. 

noun
  • Someone who has control over something or someone. 

  • A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings. 

  • A vessel having a specified number of masts. 

  • The original of a document or of a recording. 

  • A male dominant. 

  • A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree. 

  • The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later. 

  • A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices. 

  • The owner of an animal or slave. 

  • A skilled artist. 

  • Someone who employs others. 

  • A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer. 

  • A person holding such a degree. 

  • The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner. 

  • An expert at something. 

  • A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source. 

  • A person holding a similar office in other civic societies. 

adj
  • Original. 

  • Masterful. 

  • Main, principal or predominant. 

  • Highly skilled. 

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