pole vs stave

pole

verb
  • To furnish with poles for support. 

  • To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole. 

  • To identify something quite precisely using a telescope. 

  • To convey on poles. 

  • To stir, as molten glass, with a pole. 

  • To strike (the ball) very hard. 

  • To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles. 

noun
  • A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife. 

  • Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object. 

  • A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage. 

  • A gun. 

  • Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder. 

  • A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south). 

  • A fixed point relative to other points or lines. 

  • Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes. 

  • A type of basic fishing rod. 

  • A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used. 

  • Pole position. 

  • For a meromorphic function f(z), any point a for which f(z)→∞ as z→a. 

  • A unit of length, equal to a rod (¹⁄₄ chain or 5+¹⁄₂ yards). 

  • A penis. 

  • A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves. 

stave

verb
  • To fit or furnish with staves or rundles. 

  • To render impervious or solid by driving with a calking iron. 

  • To suffer, or cause to be lost by breaking the cask. 

  • To push, or keep off, as with a staff. 

  • To delay by force or craft; to drive away. 

  • To break in the staves of; to break a hole in; to burst. 

noun
  • The initial consonant, consonant cluster, or vowel of a word which rhymes with another word with the same consonant or vowel in stave-rhyme. 

  • A sign, symbol or sigil, including rune or rune-like characters, used in Icelandic magic. 

  • One of the bars or rounds of a rack, rungs of a ladder, etc; one of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel 

  • The five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff. 

  • One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; especially, one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, barrel, pail, etc. 

  • A staff or walking stick. 

  • A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff. 

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