billet vs wand

billet

noun
  • A short cutting of sugar cane produced by a harvester or used for planting. 

  • A sealed ticket for a draw or lottery. 

  • An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood, either square or round. 

  • A loop that receives the end of a buckled strap. 

  • Berth; position. 

  • An allocated space or berth in a boat or ship. 

  • A short piece of wood, especially one used as firewood. 

  • A strap that enters a buckle. 

  • A short informal letter. 

  • A written order to quarter soldiers. 

  • A rectangle used as a charge on an escutcheon. 

  • Temporary lodgings in a private residence, such as is organised for members of a visiting sports team. 

  • A place where a soldier is assigned to lodge. 

  • A semi-finished length of metal. 

verb
  • To lodge, or be quartered, in a private house. 

  • To direct, by a ticket or note, where to lodge. 

  • To lodge soldiers, or guests, usually by order. 

wand

noun
  • A stick, branch, or stalk, especially of willow. 

  • A hand-held narrow rod, usually used for pointing or instructing, or as a traditional emblem of authority. 

  • An instrument shaped like a wand, such as a curling wand. 

  • A card of a particular suit of the minor arcana in tarot, the wands. 

  • A stick or rod used by a magician (a magic wand), conjurer or diviner (divining rod). 

verb
  • To scan (e.g. a passenger at an airport) with a metal detector. 

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