handful vs herd

handful

noun
  • A group or number of things; a bunch. 

  • A five-year prison sentence. 

  • Something which can only be managed with difficulty. 

  • A small number, usually approximately five. 

  • The amount that a hand will grasp or contain. 

herd

noun
  • A crowd, a mass of people or things; a rabble. 

  • A number of domestic animals assembled together under the watch or ownership of a keeper. 

  • Any collection of animals gathered or travelling in a company. 

verb
  • To manage, care for or guard a herd 

  • To act as a herdsman or a shepherd. 

  • To unite or associate in a herd 

  • To move or drive a herd. 

  • To associate; to ally oneself with, or place oneself among, a group or company. 

  • To unite or associate in a herd; to feed or run together, or in company. 

  • To form or put into a herd. 

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