clay vs loam

clay

noun
  • A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. 

  • A moth, Mythimna ferrago 

  • A tennis court surface made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate. 

  • A clay pigeon. 

  • A clay pipe for smoking tobacco. 

  • Land or territory of a country or other political region, especially when subject to territorial claims 

  • An earth material with ductile qualities. 

  • The material of the human body. 

  • A particle less than 3.9 microns in diameter, following the Wentworth scale. 

verb
  • To purify using clay. 

  • To add clay to, to spread clay onto. 

loam

noun
  • A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials, used in making moulds for large castings, often without a pattern. 

  • A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due. 

adj
  • Made of loam; consisting of loam. 

verb
  • To cover, smear, or fill with loam. 

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