pledge vs wager

pledge

noun
  • A solemn promise to do something. 

  • The personal property so pledged, to be kept until the debt is paid. 

  • A bailment of personal property to secure payment of a debt without transfer of title. 

  • A person who has taken a pledge of allegiance to a college fraternity, but is not yet formally approved. 

  • A drinking toast. 

  • An asset or person temporarily handed over to guarantee the fulfilment of something promised, under threat of permanent loss of the thing handed over; surety, security, hostage. 

  • A promise to abstain from drinking alcohol. 

verb
  • To deposit something as a security; to pawn. 

  • To make a solemn promise (to do something). 

  • To give assurance of friendship by the act of drinking; to drink to one's health. 

wager

noun
  • An offer to make oath. 

  • Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge. 

  • A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. 

  • That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet. 

verb
  • To suppose; to dare say. 

  • To bet something; to put it up as collateral. 

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