dwell vs hover

dwell

verb
  • To linger on a particular thought, idea, etc.; to remain fixated on something. 

  • To abide; to remain; to continue. 

  • To live; to reside. 

  • To be in a given state. 

noun
  • In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each). 

  • A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed. 

  • A planned delay in a timed control program. 

  • A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state. 

hover

verb
  • Sometimes followed by over: to hang around or linger in a place, especially in an uncertain manner. 

  • To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air. 

  • Of a bird: to shelter (chicks) under its body and wings; (by extension) of a thing: to cover or surround (something). 

  • To remain stationary or float in the air. 

  • To be indecisive or uncertain; to vacillate, to waver. 

  • Chiefly followed by over: to use a mouse or other device to place a cursor over something on a screen such as a hyperlink or icon without clicking, so as to produce a result (such as the appearance of a tooltip). 

  • To travel in a hovercraft as it moves above a water surface. 

noun
  • An act, or the state, of remaining stationary in the air or some other place. 

  • A flock of birds fluttering in the air in one place. 

  • A cover; a protection; a shelter; specifically, an overhanging bank or stone under which fish can shelter; also, a shelter for hens brooding their eggs. 

  • An act, or the state, of being suspended; a suspension. 

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