spell vs stage

spell

noun
  • A definite period (of work or other activity). 

  • An uninterrupted series of alternate overs bowled by a single bowler. 

  • A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula. 

  • An indefinite period of time (usually with a qualifier); by extension, a relatively short distance. 

  • Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. 

  • A splinter, usually of wood; a spelk. 

  • The wooden bat in the game of trap ball, or knurr and spell. 

  • A period of rest; time off. 

  • A period of illness, or sudden interval of bad spirits, disease etc. 

  • A shift (of work); (rare) a set of workers responsible for a specific turn of labour. 

verb
  • To be able to write or say the letters that form words. 

  • To work in place of (someone). 

  • To constitute; to measure. 

  • To rest (someone or something), to give someone or something a rest or break. 

  • To clarify; to explain in detail. 

  • Of letters: to compose (a word). 

  • To indicate that (some event) will occur. 

  • To rest from work for a time. 

  • To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm. 

  • To write or say the letters that form a word or part of a word. 

stage

noun
  • A phase. 

  • A platform; a surface, generally elevated, upon which show performances or other public events are given. 

  • One of the portions of a device (such as a rocket or thermonuclear weapon) which are used or activated in a particular order, one after another. 

  • A floor or storey of a house. 

  • The number of an electronic circuit’s block, such as a filter, an amplifier, etc. 

  • A stagecoach, an enclosed horsedrawn carriage used to carry passengers. 

  • A place where anything is publicly exhibited, or a remarkable affair occurs; the scene. 

  • The succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic time scale. 

  • The place on a microscope where the slide is located for viewing. 

  • An internship. 

  • A platform, often floating, serving as a kind of wharf. 

  • A level; one of the sequential areas making up the game. 

  • A floor elevated for the convenience of mechanical work, etc.; scaffolding; staging. 

verb
  • To produce on a stage, to perform a play. 

  • To demonstrate in a deceptive manner. 

  • To orchestrate; to carry out. 

  • To place in position to prepare for use. 

  • To determine what stage (a disease, etc.) has progressed to 

  • To jettison a spent stage of a multistage rocket or other launch vehicle and light the engine(s) of the stage above it. 

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