splice vs stirrup

splice

noun
  • A junction or joining of ropes made by splicing them together. 

  • The electrical and mechanical connection between two pieces of wire or cable. 

  • That part of a bat where the handle joins the blade. 

  • Bonding or joining of overlapping materials. 

  • The process of removing intron sequences from the pre-messenger RNA, and then joining together exons. 

verb
  • To unite as if splicing. 

  • To unite, as spars, timbers, rails, etc., by lapping the two ends together, or by applying a piece which laps upon the two ends, and then binding, or in any way making fast. 

  • To remove intron sequences from the pre-messenger RNA, and then join together exons. 

  • To unite, as two ropes, or parts of a rope, by a particular manner of interweaving the strands, the union being between two ends, or between an end and the body of a rope. 

  • To unite in marriage. 

stirrup

noun
  • A rope secured to a yard, with a thimble in its lower end for supporting a footrope. 

  • Any piece shaped like the stirrup of a saddle, used as a support, clamp, etc. 

  • A portable, flexible ladder-like device used in climbing. 

  • A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding. 

  • A stapes. 

adj
  • Referring to women's pants/trousers: being of a form, commonly worn by women, that includes a strap beneath the arch of the foot. 

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