strut vs tread

strut

verb
  • To walk across or on (a stage or other place) haughtily or proudly. 

  • Of a peacock or other fowl: to stand or walk stiffly, with the tail erect and spread out. 

  • To walk haughtily or proudly with one's head held high. 

  • To brace or support (something) by a strut or struts; to hold (something) in place or strengthen by a diagonal, transverse, or upright support. 

  • To be attached diagonally or at a slant; also, to be bent at a sharp angle. 

noun
  • A beam or rod providing support. 

  • An act of strutting (“bracing or supporting (something) by a strut or struts (sense 1); attaching diagonally; bending at a sharp angle”); specifically, deviation (of the spoke of a wheel) from the normal position. 

  • An instrument for adjusting the pleats of a ruff. 

  • A step or walk done stiffly and with the head held high, often due to haughtiness or pride; affected dignity in walking. 

tread

verb
  • To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, etc. 

  • To proceed, to behave (in a certain manner). 

  • To beat or press with the feet. 

  • To work a lever, treadle, etc., with the foot or the feet. 

  • To crush grapes with one's feet to make wine 

  • To step or walk upon. 

  • To copulate; said of (especially male) birds. 

  • To step or walk (on or across something); to trample. 

  • To copulate with. 

  • To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue. 

noun
  • A step taken with the foot. 

  • The grooves carved into the face of a tire, used to give the tire traction. 

  • The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle. 

  • The grooves on the bottom of a shoe or other footwear, used to give grip or traction. 

  • A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes, or strikes its feet together. 

  • The horizontal part of a step in a flight of stairs. 

  • The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet. 

  • The act of avian copulation in which the male bird mounts the female by standing on her back. 

  • A manner of stepping. 

  • The sound made when someone or something is walking. 

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