Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STAKE, v.t.

1. To fasten, support or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or plants.
2. To mark the limits by stakes; with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road, or the ground for a canal.
3. To wager; to pledge; to put at hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency. I'll stake yon lamb that near the fountain plays. – Pope.
4. To point or sharpen stakes. [Not used in America.]
5. To pierce with a stake. – Spectator.