batten vs spar

batten

noun
  • A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point. 

  • A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat. 

  • The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof. 

  • In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater. 

verb
  • To furnish with battens. 

  • To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens. 

  • To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously. 

  • To fertilize or enrich, as land. 

  • To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding. 

  • To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously. 

  • To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat. 

  • To feed (on); to revel (in). 

  • To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding. 

spar

noun
  • A thick pole or piece of wood. 

  • Any crystal with readily discernible faces. 

  • A rafter of a roof. 

  • A beam-like structural member that supports ribs in an aircraft wing or other airfoil. 

  • A sparring session; a preliminary fight, as in boxing or cock-fighting. 

  • Any of various microcrystalline minerals, of light, translucent, or transparent appearance, which are easily cleft. 

  • Any linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff. 

verb
  • To contest in words; to wrangle. 

  • To supply or equip (a vessel) with spars. 

  • To fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat. 

  • To strike with the feet or spurs, as cocks do. 

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