Arracks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Buildings or group of buildings used to house military personnel ; temporary lodging for troops ; quarters designed for soldiers to live and sleep in
2. Structures intended for accommodating members of the armed forces ; facilities providing shelter and living space for soldiers ; communal living areas for military staff
3. Residential complexes designated for military use ; barracks that serve as lodging for armed service members ; accommodations providing sleeping and living quarters for troops

Etymology: "Arracks" is the plural of "arrack", a strong spirit distilled in South and Southeast Asia, typically from palm sap or rice. The plural form is unusual today because it has come to name a place rather than a drink. In British military usage, "the barracks" and, in the plural form "arracks," seem to have been the form used for a building or group of buildings housing soldiers, and the word is widely reported to have come from the same root as the drink's name. The drink's name itself travelled through Arabic, where "ʿaraq" meant sweat or juice, and into Hindi and other South Asian languages, where it became "arrack" for local distilled liquor. English speakers in India borrowed it for the spirit, and the word later spread through European trade routes.

Synonyms: quarters, barracks, lodging