gird vs steel

gird

verb
  • To encircle with, or as if with a belt. 

  • To jeer at. 

  • To bind with a flexible rope or cord. 

  • To jeer. 

  • To prepare (oneself) for an action. 

noun
  • A sarcastic remark. 

  • A stroke with a rod or switch. 

  • A severe spasm; a twinge; a pang. 

steel

verb
  • To edge, cover, or point with steel. 

  • To cause to resemble steel in appearance. 

  • To steelify; to turn iron into steel. 

  • To sharpen with a honing steel. 

  • To harden or strengthen; to nerve or make obdurate; to fortify against. 

  • To press with a flat iron. 

  • To electroplate an item, particularly an engraving plate, with a layer of iron. 

adj
  • Made of steel. 

  • Similar to steel in color, strength, or the like; steely. 

  • Of or belonging to the manufacture or trade in steel. 

  • Engraved on steel. 

noun
  • Extreme hardness or resilience. 

  • Varieties of this metal. 

  • The gray hue of this metal; steel-gray, or steel blue. 

  • A honing steel, a tool used to sharpen or hone metal blades. 

  • An artificial metal produced from iron, harder and more elastic than elemental iron; used figuratively as a symbol of hardness. 

  • Armor. 

  • An engraving plate 

  • Pieces used to strengthen, support, or expand an item of clothing. 

  • A type of slide used while playing the steel guitar. 

  • Projectiles. 

  • Bladed or pointed weapons, as swords, javelins, daggers. 

  • A fringe of beads or decoration of this metal. 

  • A sewing needle; a knitting needle; a sharp metal stylus. 

  • A piece used for striking sparks from flint. 

  • A flat iron. 

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