Also 5 coolerake, colrak(e; also β. 6– coulrake, 8 cowl-rake, courake. [perh. orig. f. col, cole, COAL (in its sense of cinder) + RAKE. But there is difficulty phonetically with the forms coul-, cowl-rake and mod. dial. cou’rake, unless these have been assimilated to the dial. vb. COUL, to rake towards one.]
1. An instrument used for raking the cinders or ashes out of an oven or furnace.
α. c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 88. Coole rake [v.r. colrake], restellum, batillum.
c. 1450. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 613. Stalerum, a colrake.
c. 1475. Pict. Voc., ibid. 809. Hoc jocabulum, a colrake.
1483. Cath. Angl., 72. A Colrake, trulla.
1538. Elyot, Bibliotheca, Rutabulum, a coole rake to make cleane an oven.
1577. Stanyhurst, Descr. Irel., in Holinshed, VI. 27. The colerake sweeping of a pufloafe baker.
1580. Hollyband, Treas. Fr. Tong, Rouable, or Rable, a cole rake.
β. 1572. Wills & Inv. N. C. (1835), 349. In the kitching One Rakingcroke, one Iron por, one pele, one iro’ coulrake ijs. viijd.
1853. Whitby Gloss., Coulrake, the iron rake for the ashes at kitchen firesides.
1883. Almondbury & Huddersf. Gloss., Coulrake, variously pronounced cou’rake, colerake, and co’rake. Used chiefly for drawing coals upon the fire.
2. A similar instrument for other purposes.
1575. Turberv., Venerie, 194. The instruments to digge withal … spades, howes or mattocks and pickaxes a colerake and a payre of clampes.
1633. T. James, Voy., 79. I put some to make Col-rakes;… [to] rake a hole in the sands to let downe our Rudder.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, Col-rake, a shovel used to stir lead ore when it is being washed.
3. (In β forms) A mud-scraper, a muck-rake.
1788. W. Marshall, E. Yorksh. Gloss., Cowl-rake, a mud scraper.
1811. Willan, West-riding Yorksh. Gloss., Coul, v. to put together dung, mud, dirt, &c. Coul-rake, s. the instrument by which this is performed.
