cutlass vs spicule

cutlass

noun
  • A similarly shaped tool; a machete. 

  • A short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship. 

verb
  • To cut back (vegetation) with a cutlass. 

spicule

noun
  • A sharp, needle-like piece. 

  • A needle-like mating structure found only in male nematodes. 

  • A tiny glass flake formed during the manufacture of glass vials 

  • A small spike of flowers. 

  • A jet of matter ejected from the photosphere of the sun. 

  • Any of many needle-like crystalline structures that provide skeletal support in marine invertebrates like sponges. 

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