facing vs rear

facing

adj
  • Positioned so as to face (in a particular direction) 

  • Diverging in the direction of travel. 

noun
  • Fabric applied to a garment edge on the underside. 

  • A powdered substance, such as charcoal or bituminous coal, applied to the face of a mould, or mixed with the sand that forms it, to give a fine smooth surface to the casting. 

  • The movement of soldiers by turning on their heels to the right, left, or about. 

  • The most external portion of exterior siding. 

  • The collar and cuffs of a military coat, commonly of a different colour from the rest of the coat. 

rear

adj
  • Being behind, or in the hindmost part; hindmost 

  • (of meats) Rare. 

  • (of eggs) Underdone; nearly raw. 

verb
  • To construct by building; to set up 

  • To rise up on the hind legs 

  • To get angry. 

  • To raise spiritually; to lift up; to elevate morally. 

  • To move; stir. 

  • To place in the rear; to secure the rear of. 

  • To sodomize (perform anal sex) 

  • To breed and raise. 

  • To carve. 

  • To rise high above, tower above. 

  • To raise physically or metaphorically; to lift up; to cause to rise, to elevate. 

  • To bring up to maturity, as offspring; to educate; to instruct; to foster. 

noun
  • Specifically, the part of an army or fleet which comes last, or is stationed behind the rest. 

  • The buttocks or bottom. 

  • The back or hindmost part; that which is behind, or last in order. 

adv
  • early; soon 

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