ash vs ember

ash

noun
  • A gray colour, like that of ash. 

  • Fine particles from a volcano, volcanic ash. 

  • The wood of this tree. 

  • The nonaqueous remains of a material subjected to any complete oxidation process. 

  • Human (or animal) remains after cremation. 

  • What remains after a catastrophe. 

  • A shade tree of the genus Fraxinus. 

  • The traditional name for the ae ligature (æ), as used in Old English. 

  • The solid remains of a fire. 

verb
  • To hit the end off (a burning cigar or cigarette). 

  • To reduce to a residue of ash. See ashing. 

  • To hit the end off of a burning cigar or cigarette. 

ember

noun
  • Smoldering ash. 

  • A glowing piece of coal or wood; a hot coal. 

adj
  • Making a circuit of the year or the seasons; recurring in each quarter of the year, as certain religious days set apart for fasting and prayer. 

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