Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - stake

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English staca; akin to Middle Low German ~ pole, and perhaps to Latin tignum beam  Date: before 12th century  1. a pointed piece of wood or other material driven or to be driven into the ground as a marker or support  2.  a. a post to which a person is bound for execution by burning  b. execution by burning at a ~  3.  a. something that is ~d for gain or loss  b. the prize in a contest  c. an interest or share in an undertaking or enterprise  4. a Mormon territorial jurisdiction comprising a group of wards  5. grub~  6. ~s race — usually used in plural but sing. or plural in constr.  II. transitive verb  (~d; staking)  Date: 14th century  1. to mark the limits of by or as if by ~s  2. to tether to a ~  3. bet, wager  4. to fasten up or support (as plants) with ~s  5. to back financially  6. grub~