behind vs stern

behind

noun
  • The rear, back-end. 

  • In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal). 

  • The buttocks, bottom, butt. 

  • A one-point score. 

  • The catcher. 

adj
  • Slow. 

  • Not advanced to the required or expected degree; overdue or in arrears. 

prep
  • As a result or consequence of. 

  • Responsible for, being the creator or controller of. 

  • After in developmental progress, score, grade, etc.; inferior to. 

  • After in time. 

  • In the past, from the viewpoint of. 

  • Concealed by (something serving as a facade or disguise). 

  • After in physical progress or distance. 

  • In support of. 

  • Underlying, being the reason for or explanation of. 

  • At or to the back or far side of. 

adv
  • Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage. 

  • At or in the rear or back part of something. 

  • So as to come after someone or something in position, distance, advancement, ranking, time, etc. 

  • So as to be still in place after someone or something has departed or ceased to exist. 

  • In a rearward direction. 

  • Backward in time or order of succession; past. 

stern

noun
  • The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. 

  • A bird, the black tern. 

  • The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. 

  • The hinder part of anything. 

  • The post of management or direction. 

verb
  • To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water. 

adj
  • Grim and forbidding in appearance. 

  • Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. 

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