rake
UK[reɪk]US[reɪk]
n
A garden tool with a long handle and a row of metal or plastic points at the end, used for gathering leaves, making soil level, etc.
n
A person who lives an immoral life and is sexually irresponsible.
v
To use a rake to gather things, make soil level, or make something tidy.
v
To search through something carefully and thoroughly.
v
To direct gunfire along the length of a target.
Etymology
The word 'rake' for the tool comes from the Old English 'raca' or 'racian', meaning 'to scrape together'. This is a native Germanic word, likely related to the Old Norse 'reka', meaning 'to drive, push'. The sense of a dissolute person, first recorded in the mid-17th century, is derived from the verb's meaning 'to scrape together', metaphorically suggesting someone who 'scrapes together' or seeks out low or debauched pleasures. The verb's extended meanings, such as to search thoroughly or to sweep with gunfire, are logical developments from the core action of drawing a toothed implement across a surface.
Analysis
The word is a simplex of Old English origin. It is not productively formed from smaller, independent morphemes in modern English.
Examples
He used a rake to gather the fallen leaves into a neat pile.
The police raked through the evidence, looking for a crucial clue.
In the 18th century, he was known as a notorious rake, more interested in gambling and carousing than in managing his estate.