longitudinal vs sheer

longitudinal

adj
  • Forward and/or backward, relative to some defined direction. 

  • Relating to length, or to longitude. 

  • Running in the direction of the long axis of a body. 

  • Sampling data over time rather than merely once. 

noun
  • Any longitudinal piece, as in shipbuilding etc. 

  • A railway sleeper lying parallel with the rail. 

sheer

adj
  • Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular. 

  • Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something. 

  • Downright; complete; pure. 

  • Very thin or transparent. 

verb
  • To swerve from a course. 

noun
  • A sheer curtain or fabric. 

  • An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship. 

  • The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern. 

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