fissure vs kerf

fissure

noun
  • A break or slit in tissue usually at the junction of skin and mucous membrane. 

  • A long, narrow crack or opening made by breaking or splitting, especially in rock or earth. 

  • A groove, deep furrow, elongated cleft or tear between body parts or in the substance of an organ; a sulcus. 

  • A state of incompatibility or disagreement. 

verb
  • To split, forming fissures. 

kerf

noun
  • The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision. 

  • The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke. 

  • The distance between diverging saw teeth. 

  • The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section. 

verb
  • To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent. 

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