foul vs stain

foul

verb
  • To commit a foul. 

  • To make contact with an opposing player in order to gain advantage. 

  • To become clogged. 

  • To become entangled. 

  • To come into contact or collide with. 

  • To make dirty. 

  • To besmirch. 

  • To hit a ball outside of the baselines. 

  • To hit outside of the baselines. 

  • To clog or obstruct. 

  • To entangle. 

noun
  • A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball. 

  • A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines. 

  • A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball. 

adj
  • Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear. 

  • Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome. 

  • Obscene, vulgar or abusive. 

  • Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust. 

  • (with "of") Positioned on, in, or near enough to (a specified area) so as to obstruct it. 

  • Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc. 

  • Unpleasant, stormy or rainy. 

  • Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty. 

  • Outside of the base lines; in foul territory. 

stain

verb
  • To discolour. 

  • To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison. 

  • To coat a surface with a stain 

  • To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features 

  • To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation 

  • To become stained; to take a stain. 

noun
  • A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible. 

  • A discoloured spot or area. 

  • Any of a number of non-standard tinctures used in modern heraldry. 

  • A blemish on one's character or reputation. 

  • A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it. 

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