mate vs pal

mate

noun
  • A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate. 

  • Friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age. 

  • A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice. 

  • A breeding partner. 

  • In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc). 

  • The other member of a matched pair of objects. 

  • A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship. 

  • A suitable companion; a match; an equal. 

  • A first mate. 

  • A friend, usually of the same sex. 

  • The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea 

verb
  • To arrange in matched pairs. 

  • To copulate with. 

  • To match, fit together without space between. 

  • To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding. 

  • To match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with. 

  • To move (a space shuttle orbiter) onto the back of an aircraft that can carry it. 

  • To come together as companions, comrades, partners, etc. 

  • To copulate. 

  • To marry; to match (a person). 

  • To pair in order to raise offspring. 

  • To fit (objects) together without space between. 

pal

noun
  • A friend, buddy, mate, cobber; someone to hang around with. 

  • An informal term of address, often used ironically in a hostile way. 

verb
  • Be friends with, hang around with. 

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