rakehell

[ reyk-hel ]

noun

1. a licentious or dissolute man; rake.

adjective

1. Also rake·hell·y [] dissolute; profligate.

rakehell

/ ˈreɪkˌhɛl /

noun

1. a dissolute man; rake

adjective

1. profligate; dissolute

Word History and Origins

Origin of rakehell¹

1540–50; alteration by folk etymology ( rake ¹, hell ) of Middle English rakel (adj.) rash, rough, coarse, hasty (akin to rake ⁴ ); compare Old Norse reikall wandering, unsettled

Word History and Origins

Origin of rakehell¹

C16: from rake ¹+ hell ; but compare Middle English rakel rash

Example Sentences

Breakfast with Pauling Agre claims he was a "rakehell" as an adolescent who enjoyed an idyllic childhood in a small town in Minnesota.

From Scientific American

There was Woodward as "The Fine Gentleman," with the inimitable rakehell air in which the heroes of Wycherly and Congreve and Farquhar live again.

From Project Gutenberg

It deals with an exclusive Oxford undergraduate dining club, the Riot, named after an 18th century rakehell.

From The Guardian

The "Rose," in Wood Street, was a sponging-house, well known to the rakehells and spendthrifts of Charles II.'s time.

From Project Gutenberg

But for such rakehells, Neither fire nor flood will kill them.

From Project Gutenberg