girdle vs pair of compasses

girdle

noun
  • That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference 

  • The clitellum of an earthworm. 

  • The line of greatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. 

  • A garment used to hold the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and/or thighs in a particular shape. 

  • A belt or sash at the waist, often used to support stockings or hosiery. 

  • The removal or inversion of a ring of bark in order to kill or stunt a tree. 

  • The zodiac; also, the equator. 

  • A thin bed or stratum of stone. 

verb
  • To gird, encircle, or constrain by such means. 

  • To kill or stunt a tree by removing or inverting a ring of bark. 

pair of compasses

noun
  • A tool for drawing accurate circles or arches, usually consisting of two arms joined at one end in such a way that the arms can be opened and closed; one of the arms is pointed at its free end while the other holds a pencil, pencil lead or some other implement for making marks. 

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