Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a licentious or dissolute man; rake.
adjective
- Also rake·hell·y [reyk-hel-ee] /ˈreɪkˌhɛl i/. dissolute; profligate.
noun
- a dissolute man; rake
adjective Also: rakehelly
- profligate; dissolute
1540s, possibly an alteration (by association with rake (n.1) and Hell) of Middle English rakel (adj.) “hasty, rash, headstrong,” probably from raken “to go, proceed,” from Old English racian “to go forward, move, hasten,” of unknown origin. Cf. rakeshame (n.) “one who lives shamefully” (1590s).