distaff vs gear wheel

distaff

noun
  • The part of a spinning wheel from which fibre is drawn to be spun. 

  • A woman, or women considered as a group. 

  • A device to which a bundle of natural fibres (often wool, flax, or cotton) are attached for temporary storage, before being drawn off gradually to spin thread. A traditional distaff is a staff with flax fibres tied loosely to it (as indicated by the etymology of the word), but modern distaffs are often made of cords weighted with beads, and attached to the wrist. 

  • A race for female horses only. 

  • Anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only. 

adj
  • Of, relating to, or characteristic of women. 

  • Of the maternal side of a family. 

gear wheel

noun
  • A wheel with a toothed rim, intended to engage with others, or similar equipment, to form a gear. 

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