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rake

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A man known for immoral or licentious behaviour, especially sexual excess and social irresponsibility.

Detailed Definition
A rake is a stock character of Restoration and eighteenth-century literature, representing male sexual licence, wit, and moral recklessness. Often charming yet destructive, the rake appears in poetry to critique libertinism, explore temptation, or dramatise the tension between pleasure and virtue. Poets used the figure both satirically and romantically, allowing audiences to confront social hypocrisy, gender politics, and the fleeting nature of desire through a recognisable cultural type.
Example
Example in poetry:
The rake boasts conquests written on no hearts but his; Poets charm and judge the rake in equal breath; Each pleasure leaves him poorer than before; The rake’s wit cannot bribe time
Additional Notes
Rake is one of the most complex figures in poetic tradition, combining charm, wit, and moral danger. Poets alternately glamorise and condemn rakes, using them to explore temptation, gender politics, and pleasure’s cost. Understanding rake culture is essential for reading Restoration and eighteenth-century poetry on love and excess.
Other Meanings of “rake”
Also Known As
Libertine Debauchee Rakehell roué harrow ribatos
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