flank vs girdle

flank

noun
  • The flesh between the last rib and the hip; the side. 

  • The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects. 

  • The outermost strip of a road. 

  • The wing, one side of the pitch. 

  • That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line. 

  • A cut of meat from the flank of an animal. 

  • The side of something, in general senses. 

  • The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc. 

verb
  • To be placed to the side(s) of something (usually in terms of two objects, one on each side). 

  • To defend the flank(s) of. 

  • To attack the flank(s) of. 

  • To place to the side(s) of. 

adj
  • Maximum. Historically faster than full speed (the most a vessel can sustain without excessive engine wear or risk of damage), now frequently used interchangeably. Typically used in an emergency or during an attack. 

girdle

noun
  • A garment used to hold the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and/or thighs in a particular shape. 

  • The clitellum of an earthworm. 

  • The line of greatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. 

  • That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference 

  • A belt or sash at the waist, often used to support stockings or hosiery. 

  • The removal or inversion of a ring of bark in order to kill or stunt a tree. 

  • The zodiac; also, the equator. 

  • A thin bed or stratum of stone. 

verb
  • To gird, encircle, or constrain by such means. 

  • To kill or stunt a tree by removing or inverting a ring of bark. 

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