merit vs profit

merit

verb
  • To be deserving or worthy. 

  • To deserve, to earn. 

noun
  • Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing. 

  • A claim to commendation or a reward. 

  • A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence. 

  • Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward. 

  • The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment. 

profit

verb
  • To benefit (somebody), be of use to (somebody). 

  • To take advantage of, exploit, use. 

  • To benefit, gain. 

noun
  • Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The money or other benefit a non-governmental organization or individual receives in exchange for products and services sold at an advertised price. 

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