bale vs sheaf

bale

noun
  • A bundle of compressed wool or hay, compacted for shipping and handling. 

  • A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg). 

  • A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams. 

  • A block of compressed cannabis. 

  • Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death. 

  • Suffering, woe, torment. 

  • A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation. 

verb
  • To wrap into a bale. 

  • To remove water from a boat with buckets etc. 

sheaf

noun
  • A sheave. 

  • A quantity of arrows, usually twenty-four. 

  • A bundle of arrows sufficient to fill a quiver, or the allowance of each archer. 

  • An abstract construct in topology that associates data to the open sets of a topological space, together with well-defined restrictions from larger to smaller open sets, subject to the condition that compatible data on overlapping open sets corresponds, via the restrictions, to a unique datum on the union of the open sets. 

  • A quantity of the stalks and ears of wheat, rye, or other grain, bound together; a bundle of grain or straw. 

  • Any collection of things bound together. 

verb
  • To gather and bind into a sheaf; to make into sheaves 

  • To collect and bind cut grain, or the like; to make sheaves. 

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