shadow vs shroud

shadow

verb
  • To hide; to conceal. 

  • 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 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). 

noun
  • 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. 

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

  • An imperfect and faint representation. 

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. 

shroud

verb
  • To conceal or hide from view, as if by a shroud. 

  • To cover with a shroud. 

  • To take shelter or harbour. 

  • To lop the branches from (a tree). 

noun
  • That which clothes, covers, conceals, or protects; a garment. 

  • One of the two annular plates at the periphery of a water wheel, which form the sides of the buckets; a shroud plate. 

  • The branching top of a tree; foliage. 

  • One of a set of ropes or cables (rigging) attaching a mast to the sides of a vessel or to another anchor point, serving to support the mast sideways; such rigging collectively. 

  • A covered place used as a retreat or shelter, as a cave or den; also, a vault or crypt. 

  • That which covers or shelters like a shroud. 

  • A streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch. 

  • Especially, the dress for the dead; a winding sheet. 

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