alternate vs remain

alternate

noun
  • That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. 

  • A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty. 

  • A replacement of equal or greater value or function. 

  • A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means. 

  • Figures or tinctures that succeed each other by turns. 

verb
  • To vary by turns. 

  • To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly. 

  • To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation. 

  • To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with. 

adj
  • Other; alternative. 

  • Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence 

  • Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second. 

  • Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly) 

remain

noun
  • That which is left; relic; remainder. 

  • That which is left of a human being after the life is gone; relics; a dead body. 

  • Posthumous works or productions, especially literary works. 

verb
  • To await; to be left to. 

  • To continue in a state of being. 

  • To continue unchanged in place, form, or condition, or undiminished in quantity; to abide; to stay; to endure; to last. 

  • To be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off; to be left as not included or comprised. 

  • To stay after others or other parts have been removed or otherwise disappeared. 

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