Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. […] Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.
(by extension) A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes.
1991 January 10, Paul Callahan, “Questions and comments about Conway's Life (long)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
I've been dealing primarily with rake and spaceship interactions for ease of experimentation (a rake will invariably escape before being eaten by even its most hellish progeny, and a spaceship is easy to redraw on the spot).
2003 August 19, Ilmari Karonen, “Inquiries about Conway's game of life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
That would mean building rake guns or glider gun arrays to construct moving walls.
2015, Paul Rendell, Turing Machine Universality of the Game of Life, page 133:
The switch engine is unstable but a number of them working in combination can form stable puffers, spaceships and rakes.
Pas could not stay, but over him did rake, / And crown'd the earth with his first touching crowne:[...]
1835 November 30 (date composed), William Wordsworth, “Extempore Effusion upon the Death of James Hogg”, in Henry [Hope] Reed, editor, The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Philadelphia, Pa.: Hayes & Zell,[…], published 1860, →OCLC, page 286, column 2:
Like clouds that rake the mountain-summits, / Or waves that own no curbing hand, / How fast has brother followed brother, / From sunshine to the sunless land!
1697, Virgil, “Postscript to the Reader”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis.[…], London:[…]Jacob Tonson,[…], →OCLC, page 621:
[...] I have added to both of them [language and poetry] in the choice of Words, and Harmony of Numbers which were wanting, [...] One is for raking in [Geoffrey]Chaucer (our Engliſh Ennius) for antiquated Words, which are never to be reviv'd, but when Sound or Significancy is wanting in the preſent Language.
George took the glass again and raked the vessel. "How she does pitch!" he said.
2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 17:51 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?): 2 USN), archived from the original on 17 October 2022:
Armor-piercing shells were heading up the shell hoists, but this procedure took a few minutes, allowing the battered American flagship to reply in kind, the gunners somewhat motivated to set new records for the rate of fire as the cruiser raked the larger ship from stem to stern in response.
From Middle Englishrake, rakke(“pass, path, track; type of fencing thrust; pasture land (?)”),[7] and then partly:[8]
probably from Old Englishracu(“bed of a stream; path; account, narrative; explanation; argument, reasoning; reason”) (compare Old Englishhrace, hraca, hracu(“gorge”)), from Proto-Germanic*rakō(“path, track; course, direction; an unfolding, unwinding; account, narrative; argument, reasoning”)[and other forms], from Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-(“to straighten, right oneself”); and
from Old Norserák(“strip; stripe; furrow; small mountain ravine”), further etymology uncertain but probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic*rakō, as above.
cognates
The English word is cognate with Icelandicrák(“streak, stripe; notch in a rock; vein in stone or wood”), Norwegianråk(“channel (in ice); cow path; trail”), Norwegian Nynorskråk(“channel (in ice); cow path; trail; furrow; stripe”), Swedishråk(“crack or channel in ice; river valley”); and probably cognate with Old Danishrag (modern Danishrag(“stiff; taut”)(regional)), Old Norserakr(“straight”), Swedishrak(“straight”).[8]
The verb is derived from Middle Englishraken(“to go, proceed; to move quickly, hasten, rush; to roam, wander”)[and other forms], from Old Englishracian(“to go forward, move, run; to hasten; to take a course or direction; to control, direct, govern, rule”),[9] from Proto-West Germanic*rakōn(“to take a course or direction; to run”), from Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-(“to straighten; to direct oneself”).
The noun is a clipping of rakehell(“(archaic) lewd or wanton person, debauchee, rake”),[14] from to rake (out) hell (“to search through hell thoroughly”), in the sense of a person so evil or immoral that they cannot be found in hell even after an extensive search: see rake(“to search through (thoroughly)”).
We have now and then rakes in the habit of Roman senators, and grave politicians in the dress of rakes. The misfortune of the thing is, that people dress themselves in what they have a mind to be, and not what they are fit for.
For honest men delight will take, / To shew you favour for his sake, / Will flatter you; and Fool and Rake/ Your steps pursue:/ And of your Father's name will make / A snare for you.
From “Grinding and Setting Lathe and Planer Cutting Tools”, in Canadian Machinery and Manufacturing News, volume XVIII, number 1, Toronto, Ont.: MacLean Publishing Company, 1917 July 5, →OCLC, page 21.