drake Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
    Sir Francis Drake; Francis Drake.
  2. noun adult male of a wild or domestic duck

WordNet

Drake noun
Etymology
Akin to LG. drake, OHG. antrache, anetrecho, G. enterich, Icel. andriki, Dan. andrik, OSw. andrak, andrage, masc., and fr. AS. ened, fem., duck; akin to D. eend, G. ente, Icel. önd, Dan. and, Sw. and, Lith. antis, L. anas, Gr. (for ), and perh. Skr. ati a water fowl. . In English the first part of the word was lost. The ending is akin to E. rich. Cf. Gulaund.
Definitions
  1. The male of the duck kind.
  2. Cf. Dragon fly, under Dragon. The drake fly.
    The drake will mount steeple height into the air. Walton.
    The dark drake fly, good in August. Walton.
Drake noun
Etymology
AS. draca dragon, L. draco. See Dragon.
Definitions
  1. A dragon. Obs.
    Beowulf resolves to kill the drake. J. A. Harrison (Beowulf).
  2. A small piece of artillery. Obs.
    Two or three shots, made at them by a couple of drakes, made them stagger. Clarendon.
Drake noun
Etymology
Cf. F. dravik, W. drewg, darnel, cockle, etc.
Definitions
  1. Wild oats, brome grass, or darnel grass; -- called also drawk, dravick, and drank. Prov. Eng. Dr. Prior.

Webster 1913