ironstone vs metal

ironstone

noun
  • Any ore of iron which is impure through the admixture of silica or clay. 

  • A type of vitreous pottery similar to stoneware 

metal

noun
  • The ore from which a metal is derived. 

  • A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars. 

  • The rails of a railway. 

  • Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects. 

  • The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators. 

  • Crushed rock, stones etc. used to make a road. 

  • Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard, often a conductor of heat and electricity. 

  • A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold). 

  • Any material with similar physical properties, such as an alloy. 

  • An element which was not directly created after the Big Bang but instead formed through nuclear reactions; any element other than hydrogen and helium. 

  • The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war. 

verb
  • To make a road using crushed rock, stones etc. 

adj
  • Having the emotional or social characteristics associated with metal music; brash, bold, frank, unyielding, etc. 

  • Characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars. 

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