shade vs shadow

shade

noun
  • A ghost or specter; a spirit. 

  • Something that blocks light, particularly in a window. 

  • A variety of a colour/color, in particular one obtained by adding black (compare tint). 

  • An aspect that is reminiscent of something. 

  • A very small degree of a quantity, or variety of meaning 

  • A subtle variation in a concept. 

  • A postage stamp showing an obvious difference in colour/color to the original printing and needing a separate catalogue/catalog entry. 

  • Subtle insults. 

  • A candle-shade. 

  • A cover around or above a light bulb, a lampshade. 

  • Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked. 

verb
  • To shield (someone or something) from light. 

  • To reduce (a window) so that only its title bar is visible. 

  • To alter slightly. 

  • To move slightly from one's normal fielding position. 

  • To vary or approach something slightly, particularly in color. 

  • To darken, particularly in drawing. 

  • To surpass by a narrow margin. 

  • To throw shade, to subtly insult someone. 

  • To shield oneself from light. 

shadow

noun
  • A spirit; a ghost; a shade. 

  • 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. 

  • An unconscious aspect of the personality. 

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

  • 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 shade and shadow occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )