cove vs den

cove

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

  • 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. 

  • 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. 

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. 

den

noun
  • A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment. 

  • Synonym of fort (“structure improvised from furniture, etc. for playing games.”) 

  • A comfortable room not used for formal entertaining. 

  • A group of Cub Scouts of the same age who work on projects together. 

  • A squalid or wretched place; a haunt. 

verb
  • To ensconce or hide oneself in (or as in) a den. 

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