Quick answer
The word arrack comes from the Arabic araq, usually translated as sweat or perspiration, a reference to the droplets of spirit that condense inside a still. Arab traders and scholars carried the term across Asia and the Mediterranean, where it was applied to many different local spirits, producing arak in the Levant, raki in Turkey, arkhi in Mongolia and arrack in South and Southeast Asia. English borrowed it around 1600. It is pronounced A-rak, with the stress on the first syllable. In Sinhala the spirit is called arakku.
Key takeaways
- Arrack derives from the Arabic araq, commonly translated as sweat or perspiration.
- The word entered English around the start of the seventeenth century through trade with India and the East Indies.
- Arak, raki, arkhi and the English slang rack all descend from the same Arabic root.
- Arrack is pronounced A-rak, with the stress on the first syllable.
- The Sinhala word for arrack is arakku, and toddy is called raa.
The Arabic root of arrack
The word arrack traces back to the Arabic araq. Its plain sense is sweat, and it was used for the liquid that beads and drips from the cool surface of a still, as if the vessel were perspiring.
Araq in some early texts appears in fuller phrases meaning the sweat or juice of a particular plant, such as the date palm. Over time the short form came to mean distilled spirit in general, whatever it was made from.
How the word spread across Asia
The word arrack spread along the routes of Arab and Persian merchants, who dominated Indian Ocean commerce for centuries. Wherever they traded, the term attached itself to the local spirit.
- →The Levant: arak, a grape and aniseed spirit.
- →Turkey and the Balkans: raki and rakia.
- →Central Asia and Mongolia: arkhi, traditionally from fermented milk.
- →India and Sri Lanka: arrack, from palm sap, cane or grain.
- →Indonesia: arak, from palm sap, rice or molasses.
Arrack in English
Arrack entered English at the turn of the seventeenth century, in the letters and journals of East India Company merchants who met the drink in Indian and Southeast Asian ports. Early spellings include arak, arack, arrac and rack.
Arrack was a common English word for two centuries, thanks to punch. It gave rise to the shortened form rack, as in rack punch, which appears in eighteenth and nineteenth-century novels. As rum took over, the word faded from everyday use. It survived in the trade vocabulary of the Indian Ocean and in the countries that kept making the drink, which is why a term most English speakers have never heard remains an ordinary household word in Sri Lanka.
How to pronounce and spell arrack
Pronouncing arrack is simple once heard. English speakers in Sri Lanka say A-rak, with a short a as in arrow, the stress on the first syllable and a hard k at the end.
- →Pronunciation: A-rak, not a-RACK.
- →Standard Sri Lankan spelling: arrack, with double r and ck.
- →Levantine spelling: arak, with one r and no c.
- →Old spellings in books: arack, arrac, rack.
- →Plural: arracks, when referring to several kinds.
What Sri Lankans call arrack
Sri Lankans use both the English word and local ones. In Sinhala, arrack is arakku, and in Tamil it is commonly saaraayam, a general word for spirits. In an English-speaking bar, arrack is understood everywhere.
- →Arakku: arrack, in Sinhala.
- →Raa: toddy, the fermented palm sap, in Sinhala.
- →Kallu: toddy, in Tamil.
- →Gal: the nickname for extra special arrack.
- →Kasippu: illicit spirit, to be avoided.
- →A shot: the usual word for a measure.
Using the word on your trip
Using the word arrack on a trip to Sri Lanka needs no translation. Ask for an arrack and soda, an old arrack or an arrack sour and you will be understood in any licensed bar or restaurant.
Lankan Stays & Trails guides enjoy teaching guests a few words at the table, and a correctly pronounced arakku or a request for a bite to go with it tends to earn a smile from the staff.
Frequently asked questions
What does the word arrack mean?
Arrack comes from the Arabic araq, usually translated as sweat or perspiration. It referred to the droplets of spirit that form inside a still. The word became a general term for distilled liquor and was applied to different spirits across Asia.
How do you pronounce arrack?
Arrack is pronounced A-rak, with the stress on the first syllable and a short a, as in the first part of arrow. The final ck is a hard k sound. Saying a-RACK, with the stress on the second syllable, is a common mistake.
Is arrack an Arabic word?
Its root is Arabic. The term araq spread from the Arabic-speaking world through trade into Persian, Turkish, Indian and Southeast Asian languages. English borrowed it around 1600 from the usage of merchants in India and the East Indies.
Are arrack, arak and raki the same word?
They share the same Arabic origin but name different drinks. Arak is a Levantine aniseed spirit, raki is a Turkish aniseed spirit, and Sri Lankan arrack is an unflavoured spirit from coconut flower sap. The word travelled; the recipe did not.
What is arrack called in Sinhala?
In Sinhala, arrack is called arakku. Toddy, the fermented sap it is distilled from, is called raa. The best-selling everyday arrack is nicknamed gal. In English-speaking settings across Sri Lanka, the word arrack is universally understood.
What is rack punch?
Rack punch is an old English name for punch made with arrack, rack being a shortened form of the word. It appears in novels, diaries and letters of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and refers to the same mixture of arrack, citrus, sugar, water and spice.