taper vs wane

taper

verb
  • To diminish gradually. 

  • To become thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • To make thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • (of a central bank) To tighten monetary policy. 

adj
  • Tapered; narrowing to a point. 

noun
  • A small light. 

  • A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing). 

  • Someone who works with tape or tapes. 

  • A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod. 

  • One who operates a tape machine. 

  • A slender wax candle. 

  • A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object. 

wane

verb
  • To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline. 

  • Said of light that dims or diminishes in strength. 

  • Said of a time period that comes to an end. 

  • Said of the Moon as it passes through the phases of its monthly cycle where its surface is less and less visible. 

noun
  • A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc. 

  • The end of a period. 

  • The lunar phase during which the sun seems to illuminate less of the moon as its sunlit area becomes progressively smaller as visible from Earth. 

  • A child. 

  • A rounded corner caused by lack of wood, often showing bark. 

  • ]] 

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