coon vs cove

coon

verb
  • To traverse by crawling, as a ledge. 

  • To crawl while straddling, especially in crossing a creek. 

  • To fish by noodling, by feeling for large fish in underwater holes. 

  • To play the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians. 

  • To hunt raccoons. 

noun
  • A member of a colorfully dressed dance troupe in Cape Town during New Year celebrations. 

  • A black person who "plays the coon"; that is, who plays the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians. 

  • A coonass; a white Acadian French person who lives in the swamps. 

  • A raccoon. 

  • A black person. 

cove

verb
  • To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove. 

  • To brood, cover, or sit over, as birds their eggs. 

noun
  • A concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling. 

  • A thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht's strake below deck level. 

  • A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain. 

  • A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. 

  • The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship. 

  • A strip of prairie extending into woodland. 

  • A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds. 

  • A friend; a mate. 

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