herald vs signify

herald

verb
  • To proclaim or announce an event. 

  • To greet something with excitement; to hail. 

noun
  • A harbinger, giving signs of things to come. 

  • A handbill consisting of an advertisement. 

  • An official whose speciality is heraldry, especially one between the ranks of pursuivant and king-of-arms. 

  • A messenger, especially one bringing important news. 

  • A moth of the species Scoliopteryx libatrix. 

signify

verb
  • To show one’s intentions with a sign etc.; to indicate, announce. 

  • To mean; to betoken. 

  • To make a difference; to matter (in negative or interrogative expressions). 

  • To create a sign out of something. 

  • To give (something) a meaning or an importance. 

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