ward vs washboard

ward

noun
  • An object used for guarding. 

  • The ridges on the inside of a lock, or the incisions on a key. 

  • The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.) 

  • A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch. 

  • A part of a hospital, with beds, where patients reside. 

  • A section or subdivision of a prison. 

  • An enchantment or spell placed over a designated area or social unit, that prevents any tresspasser from entering; approaching; or even being able to locate said protected premises or demographic. 

  • A guarding or defensive motion or position. 

  • Land tenure through military service. 

  • Guardianship, especially of a child or prisoner. 

  • A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman. 

  • An area of a castle, corresponding to a circuit of the walls. 

  • An administrative division of a borough, city or council. 

  • A minor looked after by a guardian. 

  • A division of a forest. 

verb
  • To defend, to protect. 

  • To be vigilant; to keep guard. 

  • To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches (usually followed by off) 

  • To act on the defensive with a weapon. 

  • To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard. 

washboard

noun
  • A board fastened along a ship's gunwale to prevent splashing; a splashboard. 

  • A stretch of ripples or bumps on a dirt or gravel road caused by interaction between traffic and road surface. 

  • Such a board used as a simple percussion instrument. 

  • A board with a corrugated surface against which laundry may be rubbed. 

verb
  • To play a washboard. 

  • To move up and down or back and forth across the surface of a hive, possibly to lay down a layer of propolis and wax. 

  • To produce a rippled texture on a surface. 

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