A drake is a male duck. That is the ordinary meaning.

A drake一隻drake is a male duck是一隻公鴨。 That這 is the ordinary meaning就是最普通的意思。

People who keep birds, hunters, and nature writers use it; many city speakers just say male duck, which is also fine. Female ducks are often called ducks, or hens on a farm; the male is the drake.

People who keep birds, hunters, and nature writers養鳥的人、獵人和自然寫作者 use it會用這個字； many city speakers很多住城市的人 just say male duck只會說male duck， which而這樣說 is also fine也沒問題。 Female ducks母鴨 are often called ducks常常就叫ducks， or hens on a farm在農場裡也叫hens； the male公的 is the drake才叫drake。

You can often tell a drake by brighter feathers, though not every kind of duck shows that clearly.

You你 can often tell a drake常常可以靠 by brighter feathers比較鮮豔的羽毛認出drake來， though不過 not every kind of duck shows that clearly不是每一種鴨子都表現得那麼明顯。

The word is old. It comes from an earlier English name that meant something like duck-leader or duck-king, not from the word dragon, even though the two spellings sit close together.

The word這個字 is old很古老。 It它 comes from源自 an earlier English name一個更早的英文名稱， that meant something like大概意思是 duck-leader or duck-king「鴨頭」或「鴨王」， not from而不是來自 the word dragon dragon（龍）這個字， even though即使 the two spellings sit close together兩個拼法看起來很接近。

(There is an old, separate English word drake that did mean dragon, mostly in older poems — a different history.) Drake as a family name is just a name.

（There is有 an old, separate English word一個古老、獨立的英文字 drake拼法也是drake， that did mean dragon真的是龍的意思， mostly in older poems多半出現在古老的詩裡 —— a different history是完全不同的來歷。） Drake as a family name當Drake是姓氏時 is just a name就只是個名字而已。