boilerplate vs thing

boilerplate

noun
  • Syndicated material. 

  • A sheet of copper or steel used in the construction of a boiler. 

  • The rating plate or nameplate required to be affixed to a boiler by the Boiler Explosions Act (1882). 

  • Standard text or program code used routinely and added with a text editor or word processor; text of a legal or official nature added to documents or labels. 

  • Hard, icy snow which may be dangerous to ski on. 

  • Formulaic or hackneyed language. 

  • A plate attached to industrial machinery, identifying information such as manufacturer, model number, serial number, and power requirements. 

verb
  • To store (standard text) so that it can easily be retrieved for reuse. 

adj
  • Describing text or other material of a standard or routine nature. 

  • Used to refer to a non-functional spacecraft used to test configuration and procedures. 

thing

noun
  • Alternate form of ting. 

  • A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country. 

  • A unit or container, usually containing edible goods. 

  • A problem, dilemma, or complicating factor. 

  • Corporeal object. 

  • That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept. 

  • A romantic relationship. 

  • One's typical routine, habits, or manner. (Used in possessive constructions.) 

  • Used after a noun to refer dismissively to the situation surrounding the noun's referent. 

  • A genuine concept, entity or phenomenon; something that actually exists (often contrary to expectation or belief). 

  • An individual object or distinct entity. 

  • That which is favoured; personal preference. (Used in possessive constructions.) 

  • A living being or creature. 

  • A penis. 

  • Whatever can be owned. 

  • Girl; attractive woman. 

  • Clothes, possessions or equipment. 

  • That which matters; the crux. 

  • A romantic couple. 

  • A word, symbol, sign, or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity. 

verb
  • To express as a thing; to reify. 

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