Past tense of rake: to gather or pull together with a rake, or to search thoroughly, or to sweep with gunfire.
From Old English 'reccan' and Old Norse 'raka.' Originally meant to scrape or gather, with the tool sense developing from the action. Military sense (raking gunfire) emerged in the 19th century.
One word, three totally different meanings—you can rake leaves, rake through old files, or rake a battlefield with bullets—and English speakers know which one you mean from context! This kind of semantic versatility makes English both flexible and occasionally confusing.
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