ray vs re

ray

noun
  • The letter ⟨/⟩, one of two which represent the r sound in Pitman shorthand. 

  • A beam of light or radiation. 

  • A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin. 

  • A line extending indefinitely in one direction from a point. 

  • A marine fish with a flat body, large wing-like fins, and a whip-like tail. 

  • One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran. 

  • A tiny amount. 

  • A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, such as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius. 

verb
  • To expose to radiation. 

  • To radiate as if in rays. 

  • To emit something as if in rays. 

re

noun
  • a syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale. 

prep
  • About, regarding, with reference to; especially in letters, documents and emails. 

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