wear vs white knight

wear

verb
  • To defend; protect. 

  • To eat away at, erode, diminish, or consume gradually; to cause a gradual deterioration in; to produce (some change) through attrition, exposure, or constant use. 

  • (in the phrase "wearing on (someone)") To cause annoyance, irritation, fatigue, or weariness near the point of an exhaustion of patience. 

  • To pass slowly, gradually or tediously. 

  • To have or carry on one's person habitually, consistently; or, to maintain in a particular fashion or manner. 

  • To ward off; prevent from approaching or entering; drive off; repel. 

  • To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought around the bow); to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind. Also written "ware". Past: weared, or wore/worn. 

  • To bear or display in one's aspect or appearance. 

  • To carry or have equipped on or about one's body, as an item of clothing, equipment, decoration, etc. 

  • To overcome one's reluctance and endure a (previously specified) situation. 

  • To undergo gradual deterioration; become impaired; be reduced or consumed gradually due to any continued process, activity, or use. 

  • To exhaust, fatigue, expend, or weary. 

  • To last or remain durable under hard use or over time; to retain usefulness, value, or desirable qualities under any continued strain or long period of time; sometimes said of a person, regarding the quality of being easy or difficult to tolerate. 

  • To guard; watch; keep watch, especially from entry or invasion. 

  • To conduct or guide with care or caution, as into a fold or place of safety. 

noun
  • damage to the appearance and/or strength of an item caused by use over time 

  • (in combination) clothing 

  • fashion 

white knight

verb
  • To unnecessarily defend someone, especially in an attempt to gain favour. 

noun
  • An individual or corporation that intends to acquire another company in order to avert a hostile takeover. 

  • Someone who unnecessarily defends someone else. 

  • A man who defends a woman in debate etc. in an attempt to gain her favour. 

  • A mushroom of species Tricholoma album. 

  • A hero, savior, or righteous individual. 

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