means A vigil or gathering held beside or in honor of someone who has died, often involving food, drink, and remembrance — or, separately, the trail of disturbed water left behind a moving boat.

from From Old English 'wacian,' to be awake or watchful, a cousin of 'watch' and 'waken.' The funeral sense comes from the old practice of keeping watch over the body of the dead through the night — staying awake beside them until burial. The nautical 'wake' (a ship's trail) is likely a separate borrowing from Old Norse 'vök,' an opening or hole in ice, the idea being the clear track a vessel leaves through the water.