cane vs pole

cane

noun
  • A short rod or stick, traditionally of wood or bamboo, used for corporal punishment. 

  • Maize or, rarely, sorghum, when such plants are processed to make molasses (treacle) or sugar 

  • Sugar cane 

  • The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae 

  • A strong short staff used for support or decoration during walking; a walking stick 

  • Split rattan, as used in wickerwork, basketry and the like 

  • A length of colored and/or patterned glass rod, used in the specific glassblowing technique called caneworking 

  • A local European measure of length; the canna. 

  • Corporal punishment by beating with a cane. 

  • A long rod often collapsible and commonly white (for visibility to other persons), used by vision impaired persons for guidance in determining their course and for probing for obstacles in their path 

  • A lance or dart made of cane 

  • The plant itself, including many species in the grass family Gramineae; a reed 

verb
  • to destroy; to comprehensively defeat 

  • To make or furnish with cane or rattan. 

  • to strike or beat with a cane or similar implement 

  • to produce extreme pain 

  • to do something well, in a competent fashion 

pole

noun
  • Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes. 

  • A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife. 

  • Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object. 

  • A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage. 

  • A gun. 

  • Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder. 

  • A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south). 

  • A fixed point relative to other points or lines. 

  • A type of basic fishing rod. 

  • A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used. 

  • Pole position. 

  • For a meromorphic function f(z), any point a for which f(z)→∞ as z→a. 

  • A unit of length, equal to a rod (¹⁄₄ chain or 5+¹⁄₂ yards). 

  • A penis. 

  • A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves. 

verb
  • To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole. 

  • To furnish with poles for support. 

  • To identify something quite precisely using a telescope. 

  • To convey on poles. 

  • To stir, as molten glass, with a pole. 

  • To strike (the ball) very hard. 

  • To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles. 

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