authority vs rule

authority

noun
  • Power or right to make or enforce rules or give orders; or a position having such power or right. 

  • A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject. 

  • Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement. 

  • Official permission; authorisation to act in some capacity on behalf of a ruling entity. 

  • A government-owned agency that runs a revenue-generating activity for public benefit. 

  • Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation. 

rule

noun
  • An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit. 

  • A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result. 

  • A regulating principle. 

  • A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure. 

  • A normal condition or state of affairs. 

  • A regulation, law, guideline. 

  • A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing. 

  • The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control. 

verb
  • To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice. 

  • To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over. 

  • To decide judicially. 

  • To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines). 

  • To excel. 

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