sergeant vs shadow

sergeant

noun
  • A bailiff. 

  • A fish, the cobia. 

  • A title sometimes given to the servants of the sovereign. 

  • The highest rank of noncommissioned officer in some non-naval military forces and police. 

  • UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to corporal and junior to warrant officer ranks. 

  • Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Athyma; distinguished from the false sergeants. 

  • A lawyer of the highest rank, equivalent to the doctor of civil law. 

  • A servant in monastic offices. 

shadow

noun
  • A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer. 

  • A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. 

  • A small degree; a shade. 

  • An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one. 

  • Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity. 

  • That which looms as though a shadow. 

  • A area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight). 

  • One who secretly or furtively follows another. 

  • An inseparable companion. 

  • A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc. 

  • A spirit; a ghost; a shade. 

  • An unconscious aspect of the personality. 

  • An imperfect and faint representation. 

verb
  • To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up. 

  • To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first. 

  • To hide; to conceal. 

  • To represent faintly and imperfectly. 

  • To shade, cloud, or darken. 

  • To block light or radio transmission from. 

  • To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance. 

  • To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM). 

adj
  • Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were. 

  • Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized. 

  • Part of, or related to, the opposition in government. 

  • Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized. 

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