shadow vs trail

shadow

verb
  • To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance. 

  • To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up. 

  • To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first. 

  • To hide; to conceal. 

  • To represent faintly and imperfectly. 

  • To shade, cloud, or darken. 

  • To block light or radio transmission from. 

  • To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM). 

noun
  • A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. 

  • A small degree; a shade. 

  • An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one. 

  • Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity. 

  • That which looms as though a shadow. 

  • A area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight). 

  • One who secretly or furtively follows another. 

  • An inseparable companion. 

  • A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc. 

  • A spirit; a ghost; a shade. 

  • An unconscious aspect of the personality. 

  • A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer. 

  • An imperfect and faint representation. 

adj
  • Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were. 

  • Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized. 

  • Part of, or related to, the opposition in government. 

  • Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized. 

trail

verb
  • To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something). 

  • To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication. 

  • To run or climb like certain plants. 

  • To be losing, to be behind in a competition. 

  • To leave (a trail of). 

  • To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle. 

  • To transport (livestock) by herding it along a trail. 

  • To hang or drag loosely behind; to move with a slow sweeping motion. 

  • To drag oneself lazily or reluctantly along. 

  • To travel by following or creating trails. 

  • To drag (something) behind on the ground. 

  • To create a trail in. 

noun
  • A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme. 

  • The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky. 

  • A walk in which all the edges are distinct. 

  • A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc. 

  • A route or circuit generally. 

  • The horizontal distance from where the wheel touches the ground to where the steering axis intersects the ground. 

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