Rake | Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Rake By Etymonline

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Origin and history of rake

rake(n.1)

"toothed tool for drawing or scraping things together," Old English raca "rake," earlier ræce, from Proto-Germanic *rak- "gather, heap up," which is reconstructed to be from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule."

The implement is so called perhaps via its action, or via the notion of "implement with straight pieces of wood" [Watkins]. Germanic cognates include Old Norse reka "spade, shovel," Old High German rehho, German Rechen "a rake," Gothic rikan "to heap up, collect."

rake(n.2)

"debauchee, libertine; idle, dissolute person; one who goes about in search of vicious pleasure," 1650s, shortening of rakehell. Hogarth's "Rake's Progress" engravings were published in 1735. Generally of men but also used by 1712 of women of similar character.

also from 1650s

rake(v.)

mid-13c., raken, "clear (rubbish, grass, etc.) by raking; gather (grain) by raking," from rake (n.1), or from a lost Old English verb *racian, or from a similar Scandinavian source (compare Old Norse raka, Swedish raka, Danish rage "rake"). Of gunfire "to enfilade," from 1630s. Related: Raked; raking. To rake in money or something like it is from 1580s.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to rake

rakehell(n.)

"wicked, dissolute wretch; thorough rascal," 1550s (1540s as an adjective), possibly an alteration (by association with rake (n.1) and Hell) of Middle English rakel (adj.) "hasty, rash, headstrong," which is probably from raken "to go, proceed," from Old English racian "to go forward, move, hasten," a word of unknown origin. But the verbal phrase rake Hell "go over (Hell) thoroughly" is attested by 1540s. Compare rakeshame (n.) "one who lives shamefully" (1590s).

muck-raker(n.)

also muckraker, c. 1600, "one who rakes muck" (earliest use is in a figurative sense: "a miser"), from muck-rake "rake for scraping muck or filth" (mid-14c.), from muck (n.) + rake (n.). The figurative meaning "one who inquires into and publishes scandal and allegations of corruption among political and business leaders" was popularized 1906 in speech by President Theodore Roosevelt, in reference to the "man ... with a Muckrake in his hand" in Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" (1684) who seeks worldly gain by raking filth.

The men with the muck-rakes are often indispensable to the well-being of society, but only if they know when to stop raking the muck. [T. Roosevelt, quoted in "Cincinnati Enquirer," April 15, 1906.]

Muck-rake (n.) in sense "person who hunts scandal" is attested from 1872. To muck-rake (v.) in the literal sense is from 1879; figuratively from 1910. Related: Muck-raking.

• rakish
• *reg-
• See All Related Words (4)

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rakish1706, of persons, also style or appearance, carriage, etc., "debauched, disreputable, having the manners or appearance of a libertine or idle and dissolute person," from rake (n.2) + -ish. Related: Rakishly; rakishness. The meaning "smart, jaunty, dashing" (1824), at first of shiscanlate 14c., scannen, "to mark off verse in metric feet, analyze verse according to its meter," from Late Latin scandere "to scan verse," originally, in classical Latin, "to climb, rise, mount" (the connecting notion is of the rising and falling rhythm of poetry), from PIE *skand- skimearly 15c. skimmen, "lift the scum from by a sliding motion, clear (a liquid) from matter floating on the surface" (the agent noun skimmer, for the utensil used, is attested from late 14c.), from Old French escumer "remove scum," from escume (Modern French écume) "scum," from a Gmoonrakerpeople, 1787, from the stock joke about fools who mistook the reflection of the moon in a pond for a cheese and tried to rake...But as told in Wiltshire, the men were surprised trying to rake up kegs of smuggled brandy, and put off the revenuers by...rehearse"to go over again, repeat," literally "to rake over, turn over" (soil, ground), from re- "again" (see re-) + hercier "to...drag, trail (on the ground), be dragged along the ground; rake, harrow (land); rip, tear, wound; repeat, rehearse;" from...LotharioAs a characteristic name for a jaunty rake, 1756, from "the gay Lothario," name of the principal male character in Nicholas...raspgrate, rasp," which is ultimately from a West Germanic source (compare Old English gehrespan, Old High German hrespan "to rake...shaveMiddle English shaven, from Old English sceafan (strong verb, past tense scof, past participle scafen), "to scrape, shave, or pare away; to polish," from Proto-Germanic *skaban (source also of Old Norse skafa, Middle Dutch scaven, German schaben, Gothic skaban "scratch, shave, scroue"debauchee, man devoted to a life of pleasure and sensuality," especially in relation to women, 1800, from French roué "dissipated man, rake," originally the past participle of rouer "to break (someone) on the wheel" (15c.), from Latin rotare "roll" (see rotary). Traditionally sasmooth"having a uniform surface, not rough," a Middle English form, from Old English smoð, a variant of smeðe "free from roughness, not harsh, polished; soft; suave; agreeable," which is of unknown origin and has no known cognates. The usual form in early Middle English was smeeth, but

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/rakeCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/rake">Etymology of rake by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of rake. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/rakeCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of rake," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed March 2, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/rake.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of rake." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/rake. Accessed 2 March, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of rake." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/rake (accessed March 2, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near rake

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