strainer vs winnow

strainer

noun
  • One who strains. 

  • A perforated screen or openwork (usually at the end of a suction pipe of a pump), used to prevent solid bodies from mixing in a liquid stream or flowline. 

  • A device through which a liquid is passed for purification, filtering or separation from solid matter; anything (including a screen or a cloth) used to strain a liquid. 

winnow

noun
  • The act of winnowing 

  • That which winnows or which is used in winnowing; a contrivance for fanning or winnowing grain. 

verb
  • To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings. 

  • To separate, sift, analyse, or test by separating items having different values. 

  • To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff. 

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