forerunner vs pacemaker

forerunner

noun
  • A runner at the front or ahead. 

  • By extension, a non-competitor who leads out the competitors on to the circuit, or who runs/rides the course prior to competitor trials, usually testing or checking the way. 

  • A postage stamp used in the time before a region or area issues stamps of its own. 

  • A forebear, an ancestor, a predecessor. 

  • A precursor or harbinger, a warning ahead. 

pacemaker

noun
  • One who sets the pace in a race, to guide the others. 

  • A set of nerves which stimulate the heart to beat. 

  • A medical implement that is used to stimulate a heart to beat by simulating the action of the natural pacemaker. 

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