arak

See also: árak and arák

English

Etymology 1

From Arabic عَرَق (ʕaraq, “sweat”), a reference to the condensate in the distillation process. Doublet of ara, raki, and rakija.

Alternative forms

• araq, arrack, rack

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈɹæk/, /ˈɛɹ.ɪk/

Noun

arak (usually uncountable, plural araks)

2. A clear, unsweetened aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink, produced and consumed primarily in the Levant.
   • 2005 January 25, “The return of arak”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     A rite of the grape harvest in the Christian villages dotting the Lebanon mountain range […] is the perfectly legal distillation of homemade arak. This smooth, cool, refreshing liquor, tasting of licorice with a soupçon of peppermint, remains the staple drink at Sunday lunch, an eat-till-you-drop extravaganza of small meze dishes.

   • 2015 February 6, Henry Jeffreys, “How to enjoy ouzo, even when you’re not on holiday”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     In Lebanon they have arak, in Turkey raki, and they even make something similar in Saudi Arabia. This is not so surprising as the Arabs were probably the first people to distil alcohol; alcohol is an Arabic word. “Arak” means “sweat” in Arabic, and describes the distillation process rather than what happens when you drink too much.

3. Alternative spelling of arrack (an alcoholic drink distilled from coconut palm flowers or sugar cane)

Translations

a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink

Arabic: عَرَق (ar) m (ʕaraq) Armenian: արաղ (hy) (araġ) Azerbaijani: araq (az) Bashkir: араҡы (araqı) Burmese: အရက် (my) (a.rak) Georgian: არაყი (ka) (araq̇i) German: Anisschnaps (de) m; Arak (de) m; Ouzo (de) m; Raki (de) m Hebrew: עַרַק (he) m (arák) Hindi: अरक (hi) m (arak), अर्क (hi) m (ark) Japanese: アラック (arakku), アラク (araku) Kazakh: арақ (araq) Kumyk: гьаракъы (haraqı) Kyrgyz: арак (ky) (arak) Ladino: Hebrew: ראקי m Latin: raki m Malay: arak (ms) Marathi: अरक n (arak) Persian: عرق (fa) ('araq) Polish: arak (pl) m Portuguese: áraque m, arak m Russian: ара́к (ru) m (arák) Swedish: arrak (sv) c Tajik: арақ (araq) Tatar: аракы (tt) (araqı) Turkish: rakı (tr) Turkmen: arak (tk) Ukrainian: ара́к (uk) m (arák) Uzbek: aroq (uz)

Etymology 2

From Arabic أَرَاك (ʔarāk).

Noun

arak (usually uncountable, plural araks)

1. A toothbrush tree (Salvadora persica).
   • 1958-1994, Hamilton Gibb & CF Beckingham, in The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Folio Society 2012, p. 51:

     They use perfume freely, paint their eyes with kohl, and are constantly polishing their teeth with twigs of green arak-wood.

Further reading

• arak (drink) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• kara, rak'a, akra, Kara

Bikol Central

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay arak, from Arabic عَرَق (ʕaraq) (cf. Tagalog alak, Chamorro arak and Ilocano arak).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔaɾak/ [ˈʔa.ɾak]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a‧rak

Noun

árak (Basahan spelling ᜀᜍᜃ᜔)

1. liquor, alcoholic beverage
2. wine

   Synonyms: agwa de pataranta (slang, dated), bino (rare)

See also

• serbesa

Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: a‧rak
• IPA^(key): /ˈʔaɾak/ [ˈʔa.ɾ̪ɐk]

Noun

arak

1. Philippine trogon (Harpactes ardens)

Chamorro

Etymology

From Malay arak, from Arabic عَرَق (ʕaraq).

Noun

arak

1. distilled liquor made from fermented coconut milk

Galo

Noun

arak

1. cliff

Ilocano

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Malay arak, from Arabic عَرَق (ʕaraq).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔaɾak/ [ˈʔɐ.ɾak]
• Hyphenation: á‧rak

Noun

árak (Kur-itan spelling ᜀᜎᜃ᜔)

1. wine; liquor; alcoholic beverage
2. alcohol

   Synonym: alkohol

Derived terms

• agarak
• araken
• inarak
• pagaraken

See also

• basi

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aʀak (“to walk single-file”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaˈɾak/ [ʔɐˈɾak]
• Hyphenation: a‧rák

Noun

arák

1. gathering; congregation; assembly

Derived terms

• agarak