stake

See also: Stake and stäke

English

Etymology

From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, *steg- (“stake”). Cognate with Scots stak, staik, Saterland Frisian Stak, West Frisian staak, Dutch staak, Low German Stake, Norwegian stake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /steɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: steak
• Rhymes: -eɪk

Noun

stake (plural stakes)

1. A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.

   We have surveyor's stakes at all four corners of this field, to mark exactly its borders.

   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     A sharpened stake strong Dryas found.

2. (croquet) A piece of wood driven in the ground, placed in the middle of the court, that is used as the finishing point after scoring 12 hoops in croquet.
3. A stick inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, flat car, flatbed trailer, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off.
4. (with definite article) The piece of timber to which a person condemned to death was affixed to be burned.

   Thomas Cranmer was burnt at the stake.

5. A share or interest in a business or a given situation.

   The owners let the managers eventually earn a stake in the business.

6. That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge.
7. A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, as used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching hole in or cutting a work piece, or for specific forming techniques etc.
8. (Mormonism) A territorial division comprising all the Mormons (typically several thousand) in a geographical area.
   • (Can we date this quote by Schaff-Herzog Encyc. and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Every city, or stake, including a chief town and surrounding towns, has its president, with two counselors; and this president has a high council of chosen men.

Synonyms

• (croquet): peg

Derived terms

• stakeholder

Related terms

• burn at the stake
• pull up stakes
• stake of Zion
• (wager or pledge): at stake

Translations

pointed long and slender piece of wood etc.

• Albanian: hu (sq)
• Arabic: وَتِد (ar) m (watid), خَازُوق m (ḵāzūq)
• Basque: taketa
• Belarusian: кол m (kol)
• Bulgarian: кол (bg) m (kol)
• Catalan: pal (ca) m, estaca (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 木樁／木桩 (zh) (mùzhuāng), 木桩 (zh) (mùzhuāng)

• Czech: kůl m, tyčka (cs) f, kolík (cs) m
• Dutch: staak (nl) m, paal (nl) m
• Esperanto: paliso, paliseto
• Finnish: paalu (fi), tolppa (fi)
• French: pieu (fr) m, pal (fr) m, tuteur (fr) m, jalon (fr) m
• Galician: estaca f
• Gallurese: stantagliu
• German: Pfahl (de) m, Pflock (de) m
• Greek: πάσσαλος (el) n (pássalos), παλούκι (el) m (paloúki)

  Ancient: σκόλοψ m (skólops), χάραξ (khárax), σταυρός (staurós)

• Hebrew: יָתֵד (he) m (yātḗḏ)
• Hungarian: karó (hu)
• Ido: paliso (io)
• Irish: cuaille m
• Italian: palo (it) m, paletto (it) m, picchetto (it) m, piolo (it) m, stecca (it) f, tutore (it) m
• Japanese: 棒 (ja) (ぼう, bō), 杭 (ja) (くい, kui)
• Kazakh: қазық (qazyq)
• Korean: 말뚝 (ko) (malttuk)
• Latin: tālea f, pālus m, stilus m, sudis f, ridica f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: miets m
• Luxembourgish: Poul m
• Macedonian: кол m (kol)
• Malay: galah
• Maori: tia, titi, teo, rirīwai (for fishing nets)
• Middle English: stake
• Norwegian: stake (no) m, påle m
• Polish: pal (pl) m, kół (pl) m
• Portuguese: estaca (pt) f
• Romanian: par (ro) m
• Russian: кол (ru) m (kol), столб (ru) m (stolb), подпо́рка (ru) f (podpórka), ко́лышек (ru) m (kólyšek) (small, tent stake)
• Sardinian:

  Logudorese: albaranu, longupànte

• Scottish Gaelic: stob m
• Serbo-Croatian: колац m, kolac (sh) m
• Slovak: kôl m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: koł m

• Spanish: estaca (es) f
• Swedish: stör (sv), påle (sv)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: قازیق (kazık)

  Modern Turkish: kazık (tr)

• Ukrainian: кіл (uk) m (kil)
• Vietnamese: cọc (vi)

croquet: finishing stick

• Finnish: lopetuskeppi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

upright stick to prevent goods falling off a cart

• Finnish: tolppa (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σταυρός (staurós)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: palo (it) m, stecca (it) f, sponda (it) f
• Russian: щеко́лда (ru) f (ščekólda), кол (ru) m (kol)

timber to which a martyr was affixed to be burned

• Arabic: مِحْرَقَة f (miḥraqa)
• Czech: kůl m
• Esperanto: fosto
• Finnish: paalu (fi)
• French: pieu (fr) m
• German: Marterpfahl m, Scheiterhaufen (de) m
• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: rogo (it)
• Norwegian: påle m
• Russian: столб (ru) m (stolb)
• Somali: please add this translation if you can
• Swahili: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: påle (sv)

share or interest in a business

• Arabic: حِصَّة f (ḥiṣṣa)
• Czech: podíl (cs) m
• Danish: interessent (da)
• Dutch: aandeel (nl) n
• Finnish: osuus (fi)
• French: participation (fr)
• German: Anteil (de) m
• Italian: partecipazione (it), interesse (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: aksje (no) m
• Portuguese: participação (pt)
• Russian: до́ля (ru) f (dólja), проце́нт (ru) m (procént), уча́стие (ru) n (učástije), пай (ru) m (paj)
• Slovene: delež m
• Spanish: participación (es)
• Swahili: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: pay (tr), çıkar (tr)

wager or pledge

• Arabic: رِهَان m (rihān)
• Finnish: panos (fi)
• French: enjeu (fr) m, mise (fr) f
• German: Einsatz (de) m, Poule f (obsolete)
• Italian: posta (it), in gioco, in palio, palio (it) m, posta in gioco f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: interesse (no) m, risiko m
• Polish: stawka (pl) f
• Russian: ста́вка (ru) f (stávka)
• Slovene: please add this translation if you can

small anvil

• Finnish: pieni alasin
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Mormonism: territorial division

• Czech: kůl m
• Finnish: vaarna (fi)
• French: pieu (fr)
• German: Pfahl (de) m
• Italian: palo (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 스테이크 (ko) (seuteikeu)
• Portuguese: estaca (pt)
• Russian: кол (ru) m (kol)
• Spanish: estaca (es) f

Verb

1. (transitive) To fasten, support, defend, or delineate with stakes.

   to stake vines or plants

2. (transitive) To pierce or wound with a stake.
   • 1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner:

     You see, I'd made a bargain with him to buy the horse for a hundred and twenty—a swinging price, but I always liked the horse. And what does he do but go and stake him—fly at a hedge with stakes in it, atop of a bank with a ditch before it.

   • 2014, A. J. Gallant, Dracula: Hearts of Stone

     “You ladies happen to notice what happened to this vampire? This just happened. Did you see who staked him?”

3. (transitive) To put at risk upon success in competition, or upon a future contingency.
   • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     I'll stake yon lamb, that near the fountain plays.

4. (transitive) To provide another with money in order to engage in an activity as betting or a business venture.

   John went broke, so to keep him playing, Jill had to stake him.

   His family staked him $10,000 to get his business started.

Synonyms

• (put at risk): bet, hazard, wager

Derived terms

• stake a claim
• stake out

Translations

to fasten, support, or defend with stakes

• Galician: rodrigar, estacar
• Portuguese: estacar (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: укрепля́ть (ru) impf (ukrepljátʹ), укрепи́ть (ru) pf (ukrepítʹ); подпира́ть (ru) impf (podpirátʹ), подпере́ть (ru) pf (podperétʹ)
• Spanish: estacar (es)

to pierce or wound with a stake

• Portuguese: estacar (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: estacar (es)

to put at hazard upon the issue of competition

• Italian: mettere in gioco
• Russian: ста́вить на карту impf (stávitʹ na kartu), ста́вить на кон impf (stávitʹ na kon)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: poner en juego

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} anpflocken (de), ^{(please verify)} anbinden (de), ^{(please verify)} hochbinden, ^{(please verify)} pfählen (de)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} picchettare (it), ^{(please verify)} scommettere (it)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 賭／赌 (zh) (dǔ), ^{(please verify)} 赌 (zh) (dǔ)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} kolac (sh)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} grmada (sl)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} estacar (es)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stake”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Keast, Keats, kates, ketas, skate, steak, takes, teaks

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Dutch

Verb

stake

1. (deprecated template usage) (archaic) singular past subjunctive of steken
2. (deprecated template usage) (archaic) singular present subjunctive of staken

Anagrams

• kaste

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English staca, from Proto-Germanic *stakô.

Alternative forms

• staak, stak, stack

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstaːk(ə)/

Noun

stake (plural stakes)

1. A stake; wood put in the ground as a marker or support.
2. A fencepost; a stake used in concert to form a barrier.
3. A branch or bough; an extension of a tree.
4. A stave or stick; a cut (and often shaped) piece of wood.
5. (rare) A prickle or splint.
6. (rare) A metal bar or pole.
7. (rare) A stabbing feeling.

Derived terms

• staken
• stakyng

Descendants

• English: stake
• Scots: stak, staik

References

• “stāke, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-12-02.

Etymology 2

From the noun.

Verb

stake

1. Alternative form of staken

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish staki, from Old Norse staki, from Proto-Germanic *stakô, from Proto-Indo-European *steg-.

Noun

stake c

1. (short for ljusstake) candlestick
2. (vulgar) erection
3. (vulgar) erect penis
4. (slang, uncountable) balls; courage, assertiveness

Declension

Declension of stake
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	stake	staken	stakar	stakarna
Genitive	stakes	stakens	stakars	stakarnas

Related terms

• ljusstake
• adventsljusstake

Anagrams

• steka