bearing vs heading

bearing

noun
  • The horizontal angle between the direction of an object and another object, or between it and that of true north; a heading or direction. 

  • One's understanding of one's orientation or relative position, literally or figuratively. 

  • A mechanical device that supports another part and/or reduces friction. 

  • Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms. 

  • One's posture, demeanor, or manner. 

  • That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports. 

  • Relevance; a relationship or connection. 

  • The unsupported span. 

  • The portion of a support on which anything rests. 

adj
  • That bears (some specified thing). 

  • Of a beam, column, or other device, carrying weight or load. 

heading

noun
  • The direction into which a seagoing or airborne vessel's bow is pointing (apparent heading) and/or the direction into which it is actually moving relative to the ground (true heading) 

  • The end of a stone or brick which is presented outward. 

  • A strip of material at the hoist end of a flag, used for attaching the flag to its halyard. 

  • The title or topic of a document, article, chapter, or of a section thereof. 

  • Material for the heads of casks, barrels, etc. 

  • A gallery, drift, or adit in a mine; also, the end of a drift or gallery; the vein above a drift. 

  • The extension of a line ruffling above the line of stitch. 

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