Crossword clues for rakehell
rakehell
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rakehell \Rake"hell`\, Rakehelly \Rake"hell`y\
(r[=a]k"h[e^]l`[y^]), a.
Dissolute; wild; lewd; rakish. [Obs.]
--Spenser. B. Jonson.
Rakehell \Rake"hell`\ (r[=a]k"h[e^]l`), n. [See Rakel.] A lewd, dissolute fellow; a debauchee; a rake.
It seldom doth happen, in any way of life, that a
sluggard and a rakehell do not go together.
--Barrow.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
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. Compare rakeshame (n.) "one who lives shamefully" (1590s).
Wiktionary
a. (tcx archaic English) immoral; dissolute. (from 16th c.) n. (tcx archaic English) A lewd or wanton person; a debauchee; a rake. (from 16th c.)
Usage examples of "rakehell".
It was bad enough that the scandal sheets breathlessly painted him as a sinfully charming rakehell, a carefree despoiler of maidens and defiler of wives.
These were the eyes of a killer, a highwayman, a rakehell, a debaucher of women, a man willing to sell his sword arm to the highest bidder.
Two grinning rakehells came to take Augusta off to a country houseAugusta, still very high-minded about the yellowing badge on her eye.
Two grinning rakehells came to take Augusta off to a country house—Augusta, still very high-minded about the yellowing badge on her eye.