carve vs whittle

carve

verb
  • To shape to sculptural effect; to produce (a work) by cutting, or to cut (a material) into a finished work. 

  • To cut meat in order to serve it. 

  • To perform a series of turns without pivoting, so that the tip and tail of the snowboard take the same path. 

  • To take or make, as by cutting; to provide. 

  • To lay out; to contrive; to design; to plan. 

noun
  • The act of carving 

whittle

verb
  • To cut or shape wood with a knife. 

  • To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt). 

  • To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate. 

noun
  • A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath knife, or clasp knife. 

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