earnest vs earnest money

earnest

noun
  • A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come. 

  • Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness. 

  • Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to joking or pretence) 

verb
  • To be serious with; use in earnest. 

adj
  • Intent; focused; showing a lot of concentration. 

  • Serious or honest. 

  • Strenuous; diligent. 

  • Focused in the pursuit of an objective; eager to obtain or do. 

  • Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; important. 

  • Possessing or characterised by seriousness. 

earnest money

noun
  • Money paid as a deposit to show intent to buy or to reserve an item to be purchased; especially, money accompanying an offer to buy real estate. 

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