swab vs veil

swab

noun
  • A small piece of soft, absorbent material, such as gauze, used to clean wounds, apply medicine, or take samples of body fluids. Often attached to a stick or wire to aid access. 

  • A sailor; a swabby. 

  • A naval officer's epaulet. 

  • A mop, especially on a ship. 

  • A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns. 

  • A sample taken with a swab (piece of absorbent material). 

verb
  • To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab. 

veil

noun
  • Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. 

  • A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom. 

  • A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. 

  • A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum. 

  • Anything that partially obscures a clear view. 

  • A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) 

  • The calyptra of mosses. 

  • That which separates the living and the spirit world. 

  • An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation. 

  • velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa). 

verb
  • To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. 

  • To conceal as with a veil. 

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