Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Rake?

\Rake\, n. [AS. race; akin to OD. rake, D. reek, OHG, rehho, G. rechen, Icel, reka a shovel, and to Goth. rikan to heap up, collect, and perhaps to Gr. ? to stretch out, and E. rack to stretch. Cf. {Reckon}.] 1. An implement consisting of a headpiece having teeth, and a long handle at right angles to it, -- used for collecting hay, or other light things which are spread over a large surface, or for breaking and smoothing the earth. 2. A toothed machine drawn by a horse, -- used for collecting hay or grain; a horserake. 3. [Perhaps a different word.] (Mining) A fissure or mineral vein traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so; -- called also {rake-vein}. {Gill rakes}. (Anat.) See under 1st {Gill}.
\Rake\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Raked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Raking}.] [AS. racian. See 1st {Rake}.] 1. To collect with a rake; as, to rake hay; -- often with up; as, he raked up the fallen leaves. 2. Hence: To collect or draw together with laborious industry; to gather from a wide space; to scrape together; as, to rake together wealth; to rake together slanderous tales; to rake together the rabble of a town. 3. To pass a rake over; to scrape or scratch with a rake for the purpose of collecting and clearing off something, or for stirring up the soil; as, to rake a lawn; to rake a flower bed. 4. To search through; to scour; to ransack. The statesman rakes the town to find a plot. --Swift. 5. To scrape or scratch across; to pass over quickly and lightly, as a rake does. Like clouds that rake the mountain summits. --Wordsworth. 6. (Mil.) To enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of; in naval engagements, to cannonade, as a ship, on the stern or head so that the balls range the whole length of the deck. {To rake up}. (a) To collect together, as the fire (live coals), and cover with ashes. (b) To bring up; to search out an bring to notice again; as, to rake up old scandals.
\Rake\, v. i. 1. To use a rake, as for searching or for collecting; to scrape; to search minutely. One is for raking in Chaucer for antiquated words. --Dryden. 2. To pass with violence or rapidity; to scrape along. Pas could not stay, but over him did rake. --Sir P. Sidney.
\Rake\, n. [Cf. dial. Sw. raka to reach, and E. reach.] To inclination of anything from a perpendicular direction; as, the rake of a roof, a staircase, etc.; especially (Naut.), the inclination of a mast or tunnel, or, in general, of any part of a vessel not perpendicular to the keel.
\Rake\, v. i. To incline from a perpendicular direction; as, a mast rakes aft. {Raking course} (Bricklaying), a course of bricks laid diagonally between the face courses in a thick wall, to strengthen.
\Rake\, n. [OE. rakel rash; cf. Icel. reikall wandering, unsettled, reika to wander.] A loose, disorderly, vicious man; a person addicted to lewdness and other scandalous vices; a debauchee; a rou['e]. An illiterate and frivolous old rake. --Macaulay.
\Rake\, v. i. 1. [Icel. reika. Cf. {Rake} a debauchee.] To walk about; to gad or ramble idly. [Prov. Eng.] 2. [See {Rake} a debauchee.] To act the rake; to lead a dissolute, debauched life. --Shenstone. {To rake out} (Falconry), to fly too far and wide from its master while hovering above waiting till the game is sprung; -- said of the hawk. --Encyc. Brit.