clutch vs transmission

clutch

noun
  • The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels. 

  • The claw of a predatory animal or bird. 

  • An important or critical situation. 

  • A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs. 

  • A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car. 

  • A fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).) 

  • A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle. 

  • A group or bunch (of people or things). 

  • Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle. 

  • A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil. 

  • A difficult maneuver 

adj
  • Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations. 

verb
  • To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity. 

  • To hatch. 

  • To seize, as though with claws. 

  • To grip or grasp tightly. 

  • To win in a 1vX (one versus X) situation. 

transmission

noun
  • An assembly of gears through which power is transmitted from the engine to the driveshaft in a motor car / automobile; a gearbox. 

  • The fact of being transmitted. 

  • Something that is transmitted, such as a message, picture, or a disease; the sending of such a thing. 

  • The passage of a nerve impulse across synapses. 

  • The passing of a communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a conspecific individual or group. 

  • The right possessed by an heir or legatee of transmitting to his successor(s) any inheritance, legacy, right, or privilege, to which he is entitled, even if he should die without enjoying or exercising it. 

  • The act of transmitting, e.g. data or electric power. 

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