stay vs support

stay

noun
  • A prop; a support. 

  • A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element. 

  • Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time. 

  • A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing. 

  • A corset. 

  • Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. 

  • A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence. 

  • A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel. 

  • The transverse piece in a chain-cable link. 

  • A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment. 

  • A station or fixed anchorage for vessels. 

adv
  • Steeply. 

verb
  • To live; reside 

  • To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays. 

  • To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back. 

  • To brace or support with a stay or stays 

  • To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide. 

  • To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder. 

  • To continue to have a particular quality. 

  • To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship. 

  • To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power. 

  • To restrain; withhold; check; stop. 

  • To hold the attention of. 

  • To cause to cease; to put an end to. 

  • To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady. 

  • To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. 

  • To tack; put on the other tack. 

adj
  • Steep; ascending. 

  • Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer. 

  • Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud. 

  • (of a roof) Steeply pitched. 

support

noun
  • Something which supports. 

  • An actor playing a subordinate part with a star. 

  • Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold. 

  • Evidence. 

  • An accompaniment in music. 

  • Compatibility and functionality for a given product or feature. 

  • Horizontal, vertical or rotational support of structures: movable, hinged, fixed. 

  • Financial or other help. 

  • A set whose elements are at least partially included in a given fuzzy set (i.e., whose grade of membership in that fuzzy set is strictly greater than zero). 

  • in relation to a function, the set of points where the function is not zero, or the closure of that set. 

verb
  • To keep from falling. 

  • To be designed (said of machinery, electronics, or computers, or their parts, accessories, peripherals, or programming) to function compatibly with or provide the capacity for. 

  • To help, particularly financially. 

  • To back a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid. 

  • To serve, as in a customer-oriented mindset; to give support to. 

  • To verify; to make good; to substantiate; to establish; to sustain. 

  • To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold. 

  • To be accountable for, or involved with, but not responsible for. 

  • To assume and carry successfully, as the part of an actor; to represent or act; to sustain. 

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