rakish1
[rey-kish]
- like a rake; dissolute: rakish behavior.
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Origin of rakish1
rakish2
[rey-kish]
- smart; jaunty; dashing: a hat worn at a rakish angle.
- (of a vessel) having an appearance suggesting speed.
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Origin of rakish2
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rakish on Thesaurus.com1. sporting, dapper, debonair, breezy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rakish
Contemporary Examples
Last of Robin Hood also centers on a young woman who falls for a rakish older movie star.
Susan Sarandon on Her Love Affair With David Bowie, Woody Allen’s Creepiness, and PsychedelicsMarlow Stern
July 24, 2014
The prince was rakish and clever and yes, even charming at times.
Sometimes his leather jackets were sporty and rakish, at others they were sculpted into prim, hourglass shapes.
Historical Examples
He bowed, rakish and smiling, with all the airs of a dancing master.
The Pirate of PanamaWilliam MacLeod Raine
He was leaning back in a morris chair, rakish, debonair, and at his ease.
Brand BlottersWilliam MacLeod Raine
I do not know what a rakish craft is; but this was very rakish and very crafty.
The World I Live InHelen Keller
The Imp was narrow and rakish, with a low cockpit and a high bow and stern.
Canoe Boys and CampfiresWilliam Murray Graydon
After which them two old cut-ups wink at each other rakish and slap their knees.
The House of TorchySewell Ford
rakish1
- dissolute; profligate
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Word Origin
C18: from rake ² + -ish
rakish2
- dashing; jauntya hat set at a rakish angle
- nautical (of a ship or boat) having lines suggestive of speed
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Word Origin
C19: probably from rake ³ (sense 1), with reference to the sloping masts of pirate ships
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for rakish
adj.
1706, "debauched, disreputable," from rake (n.2) + -ish. Related: Rakishly; rakishness.
The meaning "smart, jaunty, dashing" (1824) is said to be a different word, probably from rake "slant, slope" (1620s), used especially in reference to a ship's hull or sails, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Old Swedish raka "project, reach;" Danish rage "protrude, project") related to Old English reccan "stretch." "The piratical craft of former times were distinguished for their rakish build" [Century Dictionary].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper