cotton wool vs pellicle

cotton wool

noun
  • Soft, absorbent cotton for medical or cosmetic use, protective padding, etc. 

  • Raw fibers of cotton before being processed. 

pellicle

noun
  • A thin plastic membrane used as a beam splitter or protective cover. 

  • A skin or coating of proteins on the surface of meat to be smoked, improving the surface adhesion. 

  • The growth on the surface of a liquid culture. 

  • The skin of a mushroom cap. 

  • A thin skin or film. 

  • The outermost layer of a mushroom, often used only for a surface that is viscid and easily peels off. 

  • Cuticle, the hard protective outer layer of certain life forms. 

  • The photosensitive emulsion of photographic film. 

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