drake

drake — noun

1. A drake is an adult male duck — a water bird with a flat beak and webbed feet. D

1.nounA2
Definition

A drake is an adult male duck — a water bird with a flat beak and webbed feet. Drakes often have brighter or more colourful feathers than female ducks.

Example

Caio pointed at a drake swimming across the lake and asked what bird it was.

pointed at + drake + V-ing

Every morning, the farmer feeds the drake and its ducklings near the pond.

feeds the drake — animal-care collocation

Common collocations
  • bright feathers
  • colourful drake
  • drake paddles
  • drake swims
  • drake leads
Synonyms
  • duck

    Generic term for the whole species; 'duck' can also specifically mean a female duck, whereas 'drake' always means a male.

Antonyms
  • duck

    When 'duck' is used to mean a female duck, it is the opposite of 'drake'.

Grammar Patterns

a drake

the drake

Usage Note

Countable noun. The word 'drake' refers only to male ducks; the female is called a 'duck' and the young are 'ducklings'.

Common Mistakes

I saw a drake and her ducklings on the pond.
I saw a drake and its ducklings on the pond.
'drake' is male, so 'its' is the correct possessive pronoun.

2. Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain and explorer who lived from around

2.noun
Definition

Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain and explorer who lived from around 1540 to 1596. He is famous for being the second person to sail around the world and for leading the English navy against the Spanish Armada.

Example

The class read about Sir Francis Drake's voyage around the world in their history textbook.

read about + Sir Francis Drake — historical-figure collocation

A statue of Sir Francis Drake in Plymouth remembers his achievements at sea.

statue of + Sir Francis Drake — monument collocation

Common collocations
  • Sir Francis Drake
  • circumnavigation
  • Spanish Armada
  • English explorer
  • Elizabethan era
Synonyms
  • Francis Drake

    Used without the title 'Sir', especially in informal or modern contexts.

Usage Note

Proper noun referring to the historical figure. Always capitalised. Often preceded by the title 'Sir' in formal contexts. Do not confuse with the common noun 'drake' (a male duck) — they are unrelated in meaning. The biographical figure is also listed as an idiom entry below (see Sir Francis Drake).

Common Mistakes

Sir francis drake sailed around the world.
Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world.
Proper names must be capitalised.
I saw a Sir Francis Drake swimming in the pond.
I saw a drake swimming in the pond.
Do not confuse the historical figure's name with the word for a male duck.
Idioms

Sir Francis Drake

idiom

Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540–1596) was an English sea captain, explorer, and naval commander. He is famous for being the second person to sail around the world and for his role in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. He is also known separately as a sense of the word 'drake' below.

Greta's school project about Sir Francis Drake included a drawing of his ship, the Golden Hind.

The tour guide showed visitors a navigation map believed to have been used by Sir Francis Drake.

Word family

  • duck
    nounA1
  • duckling
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Drake', 'duck', and 'mallard' all refer to water birds, but they differ in specificity. 'Duck' is the broadest term — it can mean the whole species, a female duck, or any member of the family Anatidae. 'Drake' is narrower: it always means a male duck. 'Mallard' is narrower still: it is a specific species of duck (Anas platyrhynchos), of which the male has a green head and the female is brown. You could say 'I saw a mallard drake' to mean a male mallard, but you would not say 'I saw a duck drake' because that is redundant. In everyday conversation, most people say 'duck' for any member of the species and only use 'drake' when the bird's sex matters — for example, on a farm or in a nature documentary.

drake ↗duck ↗mallard

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word 'drake' for a male duck has been used in English since before the 1100s. Its exact origin is uncertain, but it may come from an Old English word related to 'dragon' — perhaps because the male duck's bright feathers and bold behaviour suggested a fierce creature. The family name Drake, meanwhile, comes from the Old English word 'draca' meaning 'dragon' or from the Old Norse 'draki' meaning 'sea monster' or 'dragon'.