ar·ak 
(ărək, ə-răk)
(ărək, ə-răk)n.
1. Any of various alcoholic liquors of the Middle East, distilled from grapes, raisins, or dates and flavored with anise.
2. See arrack.
[Arabic, short for 'araq al-tamr, literally, sweat of the date (the liquor having originally been distilled from date wine) : 'araq, sweat (from 'ariqa, to sweat; see ʿrq2 in Semitic roots) + al-, the + tamr, date.]