Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
STAKE
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English staca; akin to Middle Low German stake pole, and perhaps to Latin tignum beam Date: before 12th century a pointed piece of wood or other material driven or to be driven into the ground as a marker or support,
2. a post to which a person is bound for execution by burning, execution by burning at a stake,
3. something that is staked for gain or loss, the prize in a contest, an interest or share in an undertaking or enterprise, a Mormon territorial jurisdiction comprising a group of wards, grubstake , stakes race ,
II. transitive verb (staked; staking)
Date: 14th century
to mark the limits of by or as if by stakes, to tether to a stake, bet , wager , to fasten up or support (as plants) with stakes, to back financially, grubstake