Wake \Wake\, n.
1. The act of waking, or being awaked; also, the state of
being awake. [Obs. or Poetic]
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Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep.
--Shak.
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Singing her flatteries to my morning wake. --Dryden.
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2. The state of forbearing sleep, especially for solemn or
festive purposes; a vigil.
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The warlike wakes continued all the night,
And funeral games played at new returning light.
--Dryden.
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The wood nymphs, decked with daises trim,
Their merry wakes and pastimes keep. --Milton.
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3. Specifically:
(a) (Ch. of Eng.) An annual parish festival formerly held
in commemoration of the dedication of a church.
Originally, prayers were said on the evening
preceding, and hymns were sung during the night, in
the church; subsequently, these vigils were
discontinued, and the day itself, often with
succeeding days, was occupied in rural pastimes and
exercises, attended by eating and drinking, often to
excess.
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Great solemnities were made in all churches, and
great fairs and wakes throughout all England.
--Ld. Berners.
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And every village smokes at wakes with lusty
cheer. --Drayton.
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(b) The sitting up of persons with a dead body, often
attended with a degree of festivity, chiefly among the
Irish. "Blithe as shepherd at a wake." --Cowper.
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Wake play, the ceremonies and pastimes connected with a
wake. See Wake, n., 3
(b), above. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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