handicap vs vary

handicap

verb
  • To estimate betting odds. 

  • To encumber with a handicap in any contest. 

  • To place at disadvantage. 

noun
  • Something that prevents, hampers, or hinders. 

  • An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the competitor possessing disadvantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success. 

  • The disadvantage itself, in particular physical or mental disadvantages of people. 

  • A race or similar contest in which there is an allowance of time, distance, weight, or other advantage, to equalize the chances of the competitors. 

vary

verb
  • To make of different kinds; to make different from one another; to diversity; to variegate. 

  • To embellish; to change fancifully; to present under new aspects, as of form, key, measure, etc. See variation. 

  • To be or act different from the usual. 

  • Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter. 

  • To institute a change in, from a current state; to modify. 

  • To change with time or a similar parameter. 

  • To display differences. 

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