bow vs guillotine

bow

noun
  • Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters. 

  • The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key. 

  • The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke. 

  • A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow). 

  • A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea. 

  • Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree. 

  • A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping. 

  • Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow. 

  • The front of a boat or ship. 

  • A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows. 

  • Either of the arms of a pair of spectacles, running from the side of the lens to behind the wearer's ear. 

  • The rower that sits in the seat closest to the bow of the boat. 

  • A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking. 

  • A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments. 

  • A gesture, usually showing respect, made by inclining the head or bending forward at the waist; a reverence 

verb
  • To become bent or curved. 

  • To defer (to something). 

  • To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing. 

  • To play music on (a stringed) instrument using a bow. 

  • To make something bend or curve. 

  • To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline. 

  • To debut. 

  • To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference. 

guillotine

noun
  • An instrument with a sliding blade for cutting the tonsils, uvula, or other body parts. 

  • A device used for cutting the pages of books, stacks of paper, etc., to straight edges, usually by means of a hinged or sliding blade attached to a flat platform. 

  • A legislative motion that debate be ended and a vote taken; a cloture. 

  • A parliamentary procedure for fixing the dates when various stages of discussion of a bill must end, to ensure that the enactment of the bill proceeds expeditiously. 

  • A machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation, consisting of a tall upright frame from which is suspended a heavy diagonal-edged blade which is dropped onto the neck of the person to be executed; also, execution using this machine. 

verb
  • To end (a legislative debate) by invoking cloture. 

  • To cut or trim (a body part, a stack of paper, etc.) with a guillotine. 

  • To end discussion (about a parliamentary bill or part of one) by invoking a guillotine procedure. 

  • To execute (someone) with a guillotine. 

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