crucifixion vs sacrifice

crucifixion

noun
  • An execution by being nailed or tied to an upright cross and left to hang there until dead. 

  • An ordeal, terrible, especially malicious treatment imposed upon someone. 

  • The death on the Cross of Christ. 

  • The military punishment of being tied to a fixed object, often with the limbs in a stretched position. 

sacrifice

noun
  • Something sacrificed. 

  • A loss of profit. 

  • The offering of anything to a god; a consecratory rite. 

  • The destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; the devotion of something desirable to something higher, or to a calling deemed more pressing. 

  • A play in which the batter is intentionally out so that one or more runners can advance around the bases. 

verb
  • To advance (a runner on base) by batting the ball so it can be fielded, placing the batter out, but with insufficient time to put the runner out. 

  • To offer (something) as a gift to a deity. 

  • To give away (something valuable) to get at least a possibility of gaining something else of value (such as self-respect, trust, love, freedom, prosperity), or to avoid an even greater loss. 

  • To intentionally give up (a piece) in order to improve one’s position on the board. 

  • To destroy; to kill. 

  • To trade (a value of higher worth) for something of lesser worth in order to gain something else valued more, such as an ally or business relationship, or to avoid an even greater loss; to sell without profit to gain something other than money. 

  • To kill a test animal for autopsy. 

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