Arak

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A clear, strong alcoholic spirit flavored with aniseed, popular in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean region
2. A potent distilled drink made with aniseed that turns milky white when water is added and is common across the Levant
3. An aniseed-flavoured liquor distilled in countries such as Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, typically drunk diluted with water and ice

Etymology: The word "arak" is one of several spirits that trace back to a single Arabic word meaning "sweat." That word, "ʕaraq," described the liquid that drips from the condensing coils of a still, so a spirit named for it was, in effect, named for the sweat of the distillation process. Its cousins "ara," "raki" and "rakija" come from the same source, so the family includes everything from Levantine anise spirits to Balkan plum brandies. A second Arabic word, "ʔarāk," meaning the tree known as the toothbrush tree (Salvadora persica), is also in the picture. The two words look alike, and the spirit's name is sometimes linked to the tree, but the sweat sense is the one that gives the drink its name.

Synonyms: arrack, raki