Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Learning new words: Rake

I'm a geek when it comes to words and word origins (Thornkin wasted a lot of my time when he sent me a link to the derivation of the word Nacho). So, when I learned a new word yesterday, I figured I had to share.

Rake, in its most common usage "is an agricultural and horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used for the collection of leaves, cut hay and grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, and generally for purposes performed in agriculture by the harrow."

Rake, as those of you who play poker know, is defined as "the money that the casino charges for each hand of poker. It is usually a percentage (5-10%) or flat fee that is taken from the pot after each round of betting."

But talking to TMIB yesterday, he gave me another definition:

rake angle Rake is also defined as the angle of the steering head with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the ground (left). A smaller angle, or less rake, is sometimes referred to as being steeper, and production sportbikes are currently in the neighborhood of 23 degrees of rake.

And now you know.

Edit: bad link

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