fountain vs skim

fountain

verb
  • To flow or gush as if from a fountain. 

noun
  • An artificial, usually ornamental, water feature (usually in a garden or public place) consisting of one or more streams of water originating from a statue or other structure. 

  • A natural source of water; a spring. 

  • A reservoir from which liquid can be drawn. 

  • A source or origin of a flow (e.g., of favors or knowledge). 

  • A juggling pattern typically done with an even number of props where each prop is caught by the same hand that throws it. 

  • A roundel barry wavy argent and azure. 

  • A ground-based firework that projects sparks similar to a water fountain. 

  • Anything that resembles a fountain in operation. 

  • The structure from which an artificial fountain can issue. 

  • A drink poured from a soda fountain, or the cup it is poured into. 

  • A soda fountain. 

skim

verb
  • To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying on it, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface. 

  • To surreptitiously scan a payment card in order to obtain its information for fraudulent purposes. 

  • To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of. 

  • To read quickly, skipping some detail. 

  • To throw an object so it bounces on water. 

  • To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface 

  • To ricochet. 

  • To hasten along with superficial attention. 

  • To become coated over. 

  • To clear a liquid from (scum or substance floating or lying on it), especially the cream that floats on top of fresh milk. 

  • To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface. 

  • To put on a finishing coat of plaster. 

  • To steal money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection. 

noun
  • Skim milk. 

  • That which is skimmed off. 

  • The act of skimming. 

  • A cursory reading, skipping the details. 

  • Theft of money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection. 

adj
  • Having lowered fat content. 

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