ticker vs timer

ticker

noun
  • A measuring or reporting device, particularly one which makes a ticking sound as the measured events occur. 

  • A watch (timepiece). 

  • A heart, especially a human one. 

  • One who makes a tick mark. 

  • A birdwatcher who aims to see (and tick off on a list) as many bird species as possible. 

  • A ticker tape, either the traditional paper kind or a scrolling message on a screen. 

timer

noun
  • A device used to measure amounts of time. 

  • Any electronic function that causes a device to be able to do something automatically after a preset amount of time. 

  • A person who records the time elapsed in a sporting event. 

  • One who has done something a certain number of times. 

  • One characterized by a certain time or time frame, such as their work hours. 

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