shearing vs snithe

shearing

adj
  • Tending to cut or tear. 

noun
  • Deformation by forces acting in opposite directions. 

  • The process of making a vertical side cutting in working into a face of coal. 

  • The act or operation of reaping. 

  • The act or operation of clipping with shears or a shearing machine, as the wool from sheep, or the nap from cloth. 

  • The material cut off in this way. 

  • The process of preparing shear steel; tilting. 

  • The act or operation of dividing with shears. 

snithe

adj
  • Sharp; cutting. 

  • Cold, piercing. 

verb
  • To cut; to make an incision; to cut off; to lance or amputate; to cut up; to cut so as to kill; to slay an animal; to hew; to cut stone; to cut hair; to cut corn; to reap; to mow. 

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