lacquer vs polish

lacquer

noun
  • A glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating; either a natural exudation of certain trees, or a solution of nitrocellulose in alcohol, etc. 

  • A similar finish, baked onto the inside of cans. 

verb
  • To apply a lacquer to something or to give something a smooth, glossy finish. 

polish

noun
  • A substance used to polish. 

  • Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation. 

  • Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess. 

verb
  • To refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite. 

  • To apply shoe polish to shoes. 

  • To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface. 

  • To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding. 

  • To refine; remove imperfections from. 

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