deviation vs variation

deviation

noun
  • The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense. 

  • A detour to one side of the originally-planned flightpath (for instance, to avoid weather); the act of making such a detour. 

  • A detour in a road or railway. 

  • The act of deviating; wandering off the correct or true path or road. 

  • The voluntary and unnecessary departure of a ship from, or delay in, the regular and usual course of the specific voyage insured, thus releasing the underwriters from their responsibility. 

  • The shortest distance between the center of the target and the point where a projectile hits or bursts. 

  • A departure from the correct way of acting. 

  • For interval variables and ratio variables, a measure of difference between the observed value and the mean. 

  • The signed difference between a value and its reference value. 

variation

noun
  • The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing. 

  • Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body. 

  • The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north. 

  • A related but distinct thing. 

  • A line of play that differs from the original. 

  • The modification of a hereditary trait. 

  • A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass. 

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