Webster's English Dictionary

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wake

1. wake \'wa-k\ \'wa-kt\ \'wo-k\ \'wo--k*n\ vb or waked or woke;  or waked; 
    or wo.ken;  or woke or wak.ing [partly fr. ME waken (past wook, pp. 
   waken), fr. OE wacan)X to awake (past wo-c, pp. wacen) and partly fr. ME 
   wakien, waked (past & pp. waken), fr. OE wacian to be awake (past wacode, 
   pp. wacod); akin to OE wccan to watch, L vege-re to rouse, excite 1a: 
   to be or remain awake  1b: to remain awake on watch esp. over a corpse  obs 
    1c: to stay up late in revelry  2: AWAKE - often used with up  1: to stand 
   watch over (as a dead body); esp : to hold a wake over  2: to rouse from or 
   as if from sleep : AWAKE - often used with (Xup - wak.er n
2. wake n 1: the state of being awake  2a1: an annual English parish 
   festival formerly held in commemoration of th e church's patron saint 2a2: 
   VIGIL  2b: the festivities orig. connected with the wake of an English 
   parish chur ch - usu. used in pl. but sing. or pl. in constr. Brit  2c: an 
   annual holiday or vacation - usu. used in pl. but sing. or pl. in  constr. 
   3: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometime 
   s accompanied by festivity
3. wake n [of Scand origin; akin to ON vo:k hole in ice; akin to ON vo:kr 
   d]amp - more at HUMOR : the track left by a moving body (as a ship) in the 
   water; broadly  : a track or path left