stake

Pronunciation: /steɪk/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
  2. noun a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track)
  3. noun instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning

Etymology

From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, 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, Spanish estaca.

In classic literature

Synonyms

interest

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
share
Narrower (hyponyms)
fee, equity, grubstake, terminable interest, security interest, insurable interest

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