ligature vs zipper

ligature

noun
  • A cord or similar thing used to tie something; especially the thread used in surgery to close a vessel or duct. 

  • A piece used to hold a reed to the mouthpiece on woodwind instruments. 

  • The state of being bound or stiffened; stiffness. 

  • A character that visually combines multiple letters, such as æ, œ, ß or ij; also logotype. Sometimes called a typographic ligature. 

  • A group of notes played as a phrase, or the curved line that indicates such a phrase. 

  • The act of tying or binding something. 

  • Impotence caused by magic or charms. 

  • A curve or line connecting notes; a slur. 

  • A thread or wire used to remove tumours, etc. 

verb
  • To ligate; to tie. 

zipper

noun
  • A leucine zipper. 

  • A string of clothes pegs or clips attached to the body and then quickly pulled off. 

  • A pressure-sensitive plastic closure. 

  • A zip fastener. 

  • A technique for arbitrarily traversing an aggregate data structure and updating its contents. See zipper (data structure). 

  • A scar on a person's body. 

verb
  • to put a zipper on an article. 

  • to close a zipper. 

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