device vs seal

device

noun
  • An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience. 

  • A peripheral device; an item of hardware. 

  • An improvised explosive device, home-made bomb 

  • A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device. 

  • An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark. 

  • A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively. 

  • A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice. 

  • Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one. 

seal

noun
  • A design or insignia usually associated with an organization or an official role. 

  • An impression of such stamp on wax, paper or other material used for sealing. 

  • A bearing representing a creature something like a walrus. 

  • Anything that secures or authenticates. 

  • A tight closure, secure against leakage. 

  • Something which will be visibly damaged if a covering or container is opened, and which may or may not bear an official design. 

  • A chakra. 

  • Confirmation or approval, or an indication of this. 

  • A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax. 

  • Something designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking through a joint. 

  • A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal. 

verb
  • To place a seal on (a document). 

  • To confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife. 

  • To guarantee. 

  • To fasten (something) so that it cannot be opened without visible damage. 

  • To close securely to prevent leakage. 

  • To place in a sealed container. 

  • To prevent people or vehicles from crossing (something). 

  • To tie up animals (especially cattle) in their stalls. 

  • To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality. 

  • To form a sacred commitment. 

  • To hunt seals. 

  • To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment. 

  • To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement or plaster, etc. 

  • To close by means of a seal. 

  • To fry (meat) at a high temperature to retain the juices. 

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