batten vs tether

batten

noun
  • The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof. 

  • A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point. 

  • A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat. 

  • In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater. 

verb
  • To furnish with battens. 

  • To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens. 

  • To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously. 

  • To fertilize or enrich, as land. 

  • To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding. 

  • To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously. 

  • To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat. 

  • To feed (on); to revel (in). 

  • To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding. 

tether

noun
  • a rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement 

  • a strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay 

  • the limit of one's abilities, resources etc. 

  • The cardinal number three in an old counting system used in Teesdale and Swaledale. (Variant of tethera) 

verb
  • to connect something to something else. 

  • to connect a cellular smartphone to another personal computer in order to give it access to a hotspot. 

  • to restrict something with a tether. 

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