arak en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈɛɹ.ɪk/
- /əˈɹæk/
Etymology
From Arabic عَرَق (ʕaraq, “sweat”), a reference to the condensate in the distillation process. Doublet of ara, raki, and rakija.
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) A clear, unsweetened aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink, produced and consumed primarily in the Levant.
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.
2005 January 25, “The return of arak”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:My wife is Jordanian and has family who have lived and worked in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for years. During our time in the U.A.E., we ate with them, drank arak, watched them dance the dabke late into the evening.
2026 March 16, Richard Florida, “Could This Be the End of Dubai?”, in The New York Times, →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.
2015 February 6, Henry Jeffreys, “How to enjoy ouzo, even when you’re not on holiday”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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(alt-of, alternative, uncountable, usually) Alternative spelling of arrack (an alcoholic drink distilled from coconut palm flowers or sugar cane)
alt of arrack
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| araq | alternative | lexicographic | |
| rack | alternative | lexicographic | |
| arrack | alternative | lexicographic | |
| araks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (33)
ja アラック (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · my အရက် (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · lad ראקי (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · uk ара́к (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · de Raki (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · pl arak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · kum гьаракъы (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · lad raki (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ky арак (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · de Arak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · tr rakı (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · uz aroq (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · gag rakı (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ms arak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · tg арақ (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · pt arak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · tk arak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · hi अरक (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · pt áraque (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · de Ouzo (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · tt аракы (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · de Anisschnaps (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · kk арақ (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · fa عرق (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · el αράκ (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ba араҡы (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · hi अर्क (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ar عَرَق (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · mr अरक (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · sv arrak (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ja アラク (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · he עַרַק (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink) · ru ара́к (a Middle Eastern aniseed-flavoured alcoholic drink)