rake

RAKE, n.

An instrument consisting of a head-piece in which teeth are inserted, and a long handle; used for collecting hay or other light things which are spread over a large surface, or in gardens for breaking and smoothing the earth.

RAKE, n.

A loose, disorderly, vicious man; a man addicted to lewdness and other scandalous vices.

RAKE, n.

1. The projection of the upper parts of a ship, at the height of the stem and stern, beyond the extremities of the keel. The distance between a perpendicular line from the extremity of stem or stern to the end of the keel, is the length of the rake; one the fore-rake, the other the rake-aft.

2. The inclination of a mast from a perpendicular direction.

RAKE, v.t. [L. frico.]

1. Properly, to scrape; to rub or scratch with something rough; as, to rake the ground.

2. To gather with a rake; as, to rake hay or barley.

3. To clear with a rake; to smooth with a rake; as, to rake a bed in a garden; to rake land.

4. To collect or draw together something scattered; to gather by violence; as, to rake together wealth; to rake together slanderous tales; to rake together the rabble of a town.

5. To scour; to search with eagerness all corners of a place.

The statesman rakes the town to find a plot.

6. In the military art, to enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of any thing; particularly in naval engagement, to rake is to cannonade a ship on the stern or head, so that the

balls range the whole length of the deck. Hence the phrase, to rake a ship fore and aft.

To rake up, applied to fire, is to cover the fire with ashes.

RAKE, v.i.

1. To scrape; to scratch into for finding something; to search minutely and meanly; as, to rake into a dunghill.

2. To search with minute inspection into every part.

One is for raking in Chaucer for antiquated words.

3. To pass with violence or rapidity.

Pas could not stay, but over him did rake.

4. To seek by raking; as, to rake for oysters.

5. To lead a dissolute, debauched life.

6. To incline from a perpendicular direction; as, a mast rakes aft.