nurse vs tend

nurse

verb
  • To care for (someone), especially in sickness; to tend to. 

  • To drink slowly, to make it last. 

  • To breastfeed: to be fed at the breast. 

  • To foster, to nourish. 

  • To manage with care and economy. 

  • To breastfeed: to feed (a baby) at the breast; to suckle. 

  • To treat kindly and with extra care. 

  • To hold closely to one's chest 

  • To strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots. 

noun
  • One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, or fosters. 

  • A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction. 

  • A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s young. 

  • A shrub or tree that protects a young plant. 

  • A person trained to provide care for the sick. 

  • A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place. 

  • A nurse shark or dogfish. 

tend

verb
  • To look after (e.g. an ill person.) 

  • To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain habit or leaning. 

  • To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard. 

  • To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn. 

  • To contribute to or toward some outcome. 

  • To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging. 

  • To make a tender of; to offer or tender. 

  • To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend. 

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