shed vs slough

shed

verb
  • To part with, separate from, leave off; cast off, let fall, be divested of. 

  • to woodshed 

  • To radiate, cast, give off (light); see also shed light on. 

  • To sprinkle; to intersperse; to cover. 

  • To divide, as the warp threads, so as to form a shed, or passageway, for the shuttle. 

  • To allow to flow or fall. 

  • To place or allocate a vehicle, such as a locomotive, in or to a depot or shed. 

noun
  • An automobile which is old, worn-out, slow, or otherwise of poor quality. 

  • An area between upper and lower warp yarns through which the weft is woven. 

  • A large temporary open structure for reception of goods. 

  • A British Rail Class 66 locomotive. 

  • A slight or temporary structure built to shade or shelter something; a structure usually open in front; an outbuilding; a hut. 

  • A unit of area equivalent to 10⁻⁵² square meters; used in nuclear physics 

slough

verb
  • To discard. 

  • To shed (skin). 

  • To slide off (like a layer of skin). 

  • To commit truancy, be absent from school without permission. 

noun
  • A small pond, often alkaline, many but not all formed by glacial potholes. 

  • Dead skin on a sore or ulcer. 

  • A muddy or marshy area. 

  • A type of swamp or shallow lake system, typically formed as or by the backwater of a larger waterway, similar to a bayou with trees. 

  • A state of depression. 

  • The skin shed by a snake or other reptile. 

  • A secondary channel of a river delta, usually flushed by the tide. 

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