Meaning

noun a loud and disturbing noise

noun an illegal enterprise (such as extortion or fraud or drug peddling or prostitution) carried on for profit

noun the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience

originFrom Middle English raket, of uncertain origin. Possibly cognate with Middle French rachette, requette (“palm of the hand”). From Arabic رَاحَةْ اَلْيَد (rāḥat al-yad, “palm of the hand”). Alternatively, the term might be derived from Dutch raketsen instead, from Middle French rachasser (“to strike (the ball) back”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0