desert vs discard

desert

verb
  • To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake. 

  • To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission. 

noun
  • That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward. 

  • A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland. 

  • Any barren place or situation. 

adj
  • Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited. 

discard

verb
  • To throw away, to reject. 

  • To make a discard; to throw out a card. 

  • To dismiss from employment, confidence, or favour; to discharge. 

noun
  • A temporary variable used to receive a value of no importance and unable to be read later. 

  • Anything discarded. 

  • A discarded playing card in a card game. 

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