breech vs stern

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. 

adv
  • With the hips coming out before the head. 

verb
  • To fit or furnish with a breech. 

  • To fasten with breeching. 

adj
  • Born, or having been born, breech. 

stern

noun
  • The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. 

  • A bird, the black tern. 

  • The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. 

  • The hinder part of anything. 

  • The post of management or direction. 

adj
  • Grim and forbidding in appearance. 

  • Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. 

verb
  • To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water. 

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