attribute vs earmark

attribute

verb
  • To ascribe (something) to a given cause, reason etc. 

  • To associate ownership or authorship of (something) to someone. 

noun
  • That which is predicated or affirmed of a subject; a predicate; an accident. 

  • A semantic item with which a method or other code element may be decorated. 

  • An object that is considered typical of someone or some function, in particular as an artistic convention. 

  • A word that qualifies a noun. 

  • A characteristic or quality of a thing. 

  • An option or setting belonging to some object. 

earmark

verb
  • To specify or set aside for a particular purpose, to allocate. 

  • To mark (sheep or other animals) by slitting the ear. 

  • To designate part of a pension to be payable to the holder's former spouse or partner at its time of payment. 

noun
  • The designation of specific projects in appropriations of funding for general programs. 

  • A mark for identification; a distinguishing mark. 

  • A mark or deformation of the ear of an animal, intended to indicate ownership. 

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