layer vs veil

layer

noun
  • A single thickness of some material covering a surface. 

  • One of the items in a hierarchy. 

  • A person who lays anything, such as tiles or a wager. 

  • A (usually) horizontal deposit; a stratum. 

  • A shoot of a plant, laid underground for growth. 

  • An item of clothing worn under or over another. 

  • A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs. 

  • A hen kept to lay eggs. 

  • one in a stack of (initially transparent) drawing surfaces that comprise an image; used to keep elements of an image separate so that they can be modified independently from one another. 

verb
  • To arrange in layers. 

  • To cut or divide into layers. 

veil

noun
  • Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. 

  • A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom. 

  • A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. 

  • A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum. 

  • Anything that partially obscures a clear view. 

  • A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) 

  • The calyptra of mosses. 

  • That which separates the living and the spirit world. 

  • An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation. 

  • velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa). 

verb
  • To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. 

  • To conceal as with a veil. 

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