delay vs linger

delay

verb
  • To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time. 

  • To put off until a later time; to defer. 

noun
  • A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity. 

  • An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay. 

  • Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”) 

  • An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment. 

linger

verb
  • To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so. 

  • To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually. 

  • To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion. 

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