ward vs windrow

ward

noun
  • A division of a forest. 

  • 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.) 

  • An object used for guarding. 

  • 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. 

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. 

windrow

noun
  • A line of leaves etc heaped up by the wind. 

  • The green border of a field, dug up in order to carry the earth onto other land to improve it. 

  • A line of snow left behind by the edge of a snowplow’s blade. 

  • A ridge or berm at a perimeter 

  • A long snowbank along the side of a road. 

  • A similar streak of seaweed etc on the surface of the sea formed by Langmuir circulation. 

  • A line of gravel left behind by the edge of a grader’s blade. 

  • A row of cut grain or hay allowed to dry in a field. 

verb
  • To arrange (e.g. new-made hay) in lines or windrows. 

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