arrack

or ar·ak

[ ar-uh k, uh-rak ]

/ ˈær ək, əˈræk /

noun

any of various spirituous liquors distilled in the East Indies and other parts of the East and Middle East from the fermented sap of toddy palms, or from fermented molasses, rice, or other materials.

Nearby words

arquebus, arquebusier, arr, arr., arracacha, arrack, arrah, arraign, arraignment, arran, arrange

Origin of arrack

1595–1605; < Arabic ʿaraq literally, sweat, juice; see raki

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arrack

Among the things I had sent for was a box of arrack, and I was now of course besieged with requests for a little drop.
The Malay Archipelago|Alfred Russell Wallace
Arrack, a spirituous liquor, especially that distilled from the juice of the cocoa-nut tree and from fermented rice.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia|Edited by Rev. James Wood
His punch had the aroma of arrack, though not arrack punch in the strict sense of the word.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 66, No. 410, December 1849|Various
They too have kalasams, and, when they are tired of rushing and barking, they drink the arrack in them.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India|Edgar Thurston

The arrack had been carried off, and the mollusc lay, entirely destroyed, on one side.
In the Eastern Seas|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for arrack

arrack

arak

/ (ˈærək) /

noun

a coarse spirit distilled in various Eastern countries from grain, rice, sugar cane, etc

Word Origin for arrack

C17: from Arabic `araq sweat, sweet juice, liquor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arrack

arrack

c.1600, probably picked up in India, ultimately from Arabic araq, literally "sweat, juice;" used of native liquors in Eastern countries, especially those distilled from fermented sap of coconut palm, sometimes from rice or molasses.