Stake

stāk, n. a strong stick pointed at one end: one of the upright pieces of a fence: a post to which an animal is tied, esp. that to which a martyr was tied to be burned: martyrdom: a tinsmith's anvil: anything pledged in a wager: a prize, anything to gain or lose.— v.t. to fasten, or pierce with a stake: to mark the bounds of with stakes (often with off and out): to wager, to hazard.— ns. Stake′-hold′er , the person with whom the stakes in a wager are deposited; Stake′-net , a form of fishing-net hung on stakes.— At stake , hazarded, in danger. [A.S. staca , a stake.]