metaphysics vs ontology

metaphysics

noun
  • Philosophers sometimes say that metaphysics is the study of the ultimate nature of the universe. 

  • The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (Latin: ens in quantum ens). 

  • The view or theory of a particular philosopher or school of thinkers concerning the first principles which describe or explain all that is. 

  • The metalogic of physics; the logical framework of physics. 

  • The study of a supersensual realm or of phenomena which transcend the physical world. 

  • Displeasingly abstruse, complex material on any subject. 

  • Any fundamental principles or rules. 

ontology

noun
  • The branch of metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being. 

  • A logical system involving theory of classes, developed by Stanislaw Lesniewski (1886-1939). 

  • A structure of concepts or entities within a domain, organized by relationships; a system model. 

  • The theory of a particular philosopher or school of thought concerning the fundamental types of entity in the universe. 

  • In a subject view, or a world view, the set of conceptual or material things or classes of things that are recognised as existing, or are assumed to exist in context, and their interrelations; in a body of theory, the ontology comprises the domain of discourse, the things that are defined as existing, together with whatever emerges from their mutual implications. 

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