flow vs wigwag

flow

verb
  • To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously. 

  • To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb. 

  • To move as a fluid from one position to another. 

  • To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over. 

  • To hang loosely and wave. 

  • To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow. 

  • To allow (a liquid) to flow. 

  • To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood. 

  • To discharge excessive blood from the uterus. 

  • To proceed; to issue forth. 

  • To cover with varnish. 

noun
  • The ability to skilfully rap along to a beat. 

  • The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action. 

  • A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set. 

  • A morass or marsh. 

  • The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement. 

  • A mental state characterized by concentration, focus and enjoyment of a given task. 

  • The movement of a real or figurative fluid. 

  • The emission of blood during menstruation. 

  • A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant). 

  • Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude. 

  • The rising movement of the tide. 

  • Smoothness or continuity. 

wigwag

verb
  • To move gently in one direction and then another; to wig or wiggle, to wag or waggle. 

  • To send a signal by waving a flag to and fro. 

  • An act of wigwagging. 

  • To oscillate between two states. 

noun
  • A device with multiple (often two), alternately flashing lights which is installed at a railway level crossing (or grade crossing), a movable bridge, etc., to warn vehicular traffic to stop. 

  • An instrument that creates a wigwagging motion for polishing. 

  • A grade crossing signal with a swinging motion used to indicate an approaching train. 

  • A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. 

  • A red light near the door of a sound stage that flashes to indicate that cameras are rolling inside the stage and that all people and vehicles outside should remain quiet; a red-eye. 

  • A device used to cause lamps installed on a motor vehicle, especially an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance or police car, to flash as a warning. 

  • Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. 

  • A signal sent by waving a flag to and fro. 

  • A warning device inside the cabin of a truck that causes a mechanical arm to drop into view when the pressure in the airbrake system of the truck becomes too low for the brakes to be reliably deployed. 

adv
  • With a wigwagging or to-and-fro motion. 

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