ticking vs vital

ticking

noun
  • A strong cotton or linen fabric used to cover pillows and mattresses. 

  • A sound of something ticking. 

  • A marking that occurs on some horses. It involves white flecks of hair at the flank, and white hairs at the base of the tail, called a skunk tail or rabicano. Sometimes referred to as birdcatcher ticks. 

  • An illusional style of dance where one moves his or her body to the "tic" of the music creating a strobe or animated effect. 

vital

adj
  • Invigorating or life-giving. 

  • Very important. 

  • Containing life; living. 

  • Necessary to continued existence. 

  • Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends. 

  • Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. 

  • Relating to the recording of life events. 

  • Relating to, or characteristic of life. 

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