RAKE

Rake

A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womaniser. Often a rake was a prodigal who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process. The rake was also frequently a man who seduced a young woman and impregnated her before leaving, often to her social or financial ruin.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Rake (character)
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

rake

Noun

  1. A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting grass or debris, or for loosening soil.
  2. a lot, plenty.
    Jim has had a rake of trouble with his new car.
  3. the direction of slip during fault movement. The rake is measured within the fault plane.
  4. the sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.
  5. a set of coupled rail vehicles, normally coaches or wagons.
    The train was formed of a locomotive and a rake of six coaches
  6. A puffer that emits a stream of spaceships rather than a trail of debris.
  7. The scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game.
  8. A toothed machine drawn by a horse, used for collecting hay or grain; a horserake.
  9. A fissure or mineral vein traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so.

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. A man habituated to immoral conduct.
    We now have rakes in the habit of Roman senators, and grave politicians in the dress of Rakes. — the Spectator

Noun (etymology 3)

  1. a course; direction; stretch.
  2. a range, stray.
    a sheep-raik = a sheep-walk

Verb

  1. To use a rake on (leaves, debris, soil, a lawn, etc) in order to loosen, gather together, or remove debris from.
    We raked all the leaves into a pile
  2. To search thoroughly.
    Detectives appeared, roped the curious people out of the grounds, and raked the place for clews. -- Captain John Blaine
  3. To spray with gunfire.
    the enemy machine guns raked the roadway
  4. To claw at; to scratch.
    Her sharp fingernails raked the side of my face.
  5. To gather, especially quickly (often as rake in)
    The casino is just raking in the cash; it's like a license to print money.
  6. To pass with violence or rapidity; to scrape along.

Verb (etymology 2)

  1. To proceed rapidly; to move swiftly.
  2. To guide; to direct
  3. To incline from a perpendicular direction.
    A mast rakes aft.

Verb (etymology 3)

  1. To walk about; to gad or ramble idly.
  2. To act the rake; to lead a dissolute, debauched life.

Verb (etymology 4)

  1. To run or rove.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: rake
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Need help with a clue?
Try your search in the crossword dictionary!