gladiator vs mercenary

gladiator

noun
  • A disputant in a public controversy or debate. 

  • A professional boxer. 

  • A person (professional or slave) who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat with another, or with a wild animal. 

verb
  • To act aggressively toward others. 

  • To fight as entertainment for others. 

  • To debate or argue. 

  • To compete in a public contest. 

mercenary

noun
  • One hired to engage in a figurative battle, as a corporate takeover, a lawsuit, or a political campaign. 

  • A person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose primary motivation is private gain. 

adj
  • Motivated by private gain. 

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