comb vs preen

comb

verb
  • To groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb. 

  • To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb. 

  • To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves. 

  • To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target. 

  • To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. 

noun
  • A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place. 

  • A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis. 

  • A connected and reduced curve with irreducible components consisting of a smooth subcurve (called the handle) and one or more additional irreducible components (called teeth) that each intersect the handle in a single point that is unequal to the unique point of intersection for any of the other teeth. 

  • A fleshy growth on the top of the head of some birds and reptiles; crest. 

  • A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser. 

  • The notched scale of a wire micrometer. 

  • An old English measure of corn equal to the half quarter. 

  • The main body of a harmonica containing the air chambers and to which the reed plates are attached. 

  • A former, commonly cone-shaped, used in hat manufacturing for hardening soft fibre. 

  • The top part of a gun’s stock. 

  • The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings. 

  • A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave. 

  • The curling crest of a wave; a comber. 

  • A crest (of metal, leather, etc) on a piece of armor, especially on a helmet. 

  • A structure of hexagon cells made by bees for storing honey; honeycomb. 

  • One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate. 

  • The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb. 

  • A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. 

preen

verb
  • To comb; to make orderly. 

  • To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror. 

  • To trim up, as trees. 

  • To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify. 

  • To flatter. 

  • To groom; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers. 

  • To show off, posture, or smarm. 

  • To pin; fasten. 

noun
  • bodkin; brooch 

  • A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth. 

  • pin 

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