cure vs medicine

cure

noun
  • A method, device or medication that restores good health. 

  • Act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health after a disease, or to soundness after injury. 

  • That which is committed to the charge of a parish priest or of a curate. 

  • Spiritual charge; care of soul; the office of a parish priest or of a curate. 

  • A solution to a problem. 

  • A process of solidification or gelling. 

  • A process of preservation, as by smoking. 

  • A process whereby a material is caused to form permanent molecular linkages by exposure to chemicals, heat, pressure and/or weathering. 

verb
  • To cause to be rid of (a defect). 

  • To bring about a cure of any kind. 

  • To preserve (food), typically by salting. 

  • To prepare or alter especially by chemical or physical processing for keeping or use. 

  • To solidify or gel. 

  • To bring (a disease or its bad effects) to an end. 

  • To be undergoing a chemical or physical process for preservation or use. 

  • To restore to health. 

medicine

noun
  • A substance which specifically promotes healing when ingested or consumed in some way; a pharmaceutical drug. 

  • Ritual magic used, as by a medicine man, to promote a desired outcome in healing, hunting, or warfare; traditional medicine. 

  • The study of the cause, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease or illness. 

  • The profession and practice of physicians, including surgeons. 

  • The profession and practice of nonsurgical physicians as sometimes distinguished from that of surgeons. 

  • Among the Native Americans, any object supposed to give control over natural or magical forces, to act as a protective charm, or to cause healing. 

  • Any treatment or cure. 

  • Recreational drugs, especially alcoholic drinks. 

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