arrack

American  

[ar-uhk, uh-rak] / ˈær ək, əˈræk /

Or arak

noun

1. 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.

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arrack British  

/ ˈærək /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of arrack

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

Example Sentences

He planned to focus on the city’s cosmopolitan night life, nibbling kibbe, drinking arrack, and taking in the vibe at beachside night clubs.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 5, 2017

Most of them, made supine by arrack cocktails and the prevailing air of lassitude, spent the day just slumbering and perspiring in the shade of flowering frangipani trees.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2016

When Dutch and British merchants came to Southeast Asia around 1600 seeking spices, textiles, and porcelain, they quickly began to buy immense quantities of arrack from the Chinese.

From Slate • May 30, 2012

What may be surprising—given fish sauce’s heady scent and England’s reputation for bland food—is that while buying all these barrels of arrack from Chinese merchants in Indonesia, British sailors also acquired a taste for ke-tchup.

From Slate • May 30, 2012

She was a Chinese vessel laden with rice, arrack, tea, porcelain, and other commodities, bound for Amboina.

From A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland by Dampier, William