marrow vs substance

marrow

noun
  • The essence; the best part. 

  • The inner meaning or purpose. 

  • The pith of certain plants. 

  • Bone marrow biopsy. 

  • The substance inside bones which produces blood cells. 

  • A friend, pal, buddy, mate. 

  • A kind of vegetable like a large courgette/zucchini or squash. 

substance

noun
  • The essential part of anything; the most vital part. 

  • Physical matter; material. 

  • Material possessions; estate; property; resources. 

  • Hypostasis. 

  • Drugs (illegal narcotics) 

  • Substantiality; solidity; firmness. 

  • A form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. 

verb
  • To give substance to; to make real or substantial. 

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