sway vs wigwag

sway

verb
  • To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock. 

  • To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade. 

  • To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield. 

  • To bear sway; to rule; to govern. 

  • To hoist (a mast or yard) into position. 

  • To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. 

  • To have weight or influence. 

  • To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp. 

noun
  • The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon. 

  • Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. 

  • Rule; dominion; control; power. 

  • A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. 

  • The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion. 

  • A rocking or swinging motion. 

  • Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side 

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 sway and wigwag occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )