bulwark vs lee

bulwark

noun
  • The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard. 

  • A defensive wall or rampart. 

  • A defense or safeguard. 

  • A breakwater. 

  • Any means of defence or security. 

verb
  • To fortify something with a wall or rampart. 

  • To provide protection of defense for something. 

lee

noun
  • The side of the ship away from the wind. 

  • A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind. 

  • A sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object; the side sheltered from the wind (see also leeside); shelter; protection. 

adj
  • Facing away from the flow of a fluid, usually air. 

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