breech vs stale

breech

noun
  • The part of a cannon or other firearm behind the chamber. 

  • A breech birth. 

  • A garment whose purpose is to cover or clothe the buttocks. 

  • The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat. 

verb
  • To fit or furnish with a breech. 

  • To fasten with breeching. 

adv
  • With the hips coming out before the head. 

adj
  • Born, or having been born, breech. 

stale

noun
  • The shaft of an arrow, spear, etc. 

  • A stalemate; a stalemated game. 

  • One of the rungs on a ladder. 

  • Something stale; a loaf of bread or the like that is no longer fresh. 

  • A long, thin handle (of rakes, axes, etc.) 

  • One of the posts or uprights of a ladder. 

verb
  • To make stale; to cause to go out of fashion or currency; to diminish the novelty or interest of, particularly by excessive exposure or consumption. 

  • To become stale; to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption. 

  • To stalemate. 

  • To become stale; to grow unpleasant from age. 

adj
  • Out of date, unpaid for an unreasonable amount of time, particularly in reference to checks. 

  • Of data: out of date; not synchronized with the newest copy. 

  • No longer fresh, in reference to food, urine, straw, wounds, etc. 

  • Unreasonably long in coming, in reference to claims and actions. 

  • No longer fresh, new, or interesting, in reference to ideas and immaterial things; cliche, hackneyed, dated. 

  • Worn out, particularly due to age or over-exertion, in reference to athletes and animals in competition. 

  • Not new or recent; having been in place or in effect for some time. 

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