soil vs stain

soil

verb
  • To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully. 

  • To make invalid, to ruin. 

  • To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an enclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (due to such food having the effect of purging them) to purge by feeding on green food. 

  • To enrich with soil or muck; to manure. 

  • To dirty one's clothing by accidentally defecating while clothed. 

  • To make dirty. 

  • To become dirty or soiled. 

noun
  • The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of time. A product-soil differs from the material from which it is derived in many physical, chemical, biological, and morphological properties and characteristics. 

  • Country or territory. 

  • Dung; compost; manure. 

  • The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. 

  • That which soils or pollutes; a stain. 

  • A bag containing soiled items. 

  • Faeces or urine etc. when found on clothes. 

  • A wet or marshy place in which a boar or other such game seeks refuge when hunted. 

  • A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth. 

  • A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer. 

stain

verb
  • To become stained; to take a stain. 

  • 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 discolour. 

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 soil and stain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )