'arak' originates from Arabic, specifically the word 'araq', where the root meant 'to sweat' or 'distillate'.

'arak' passed from Arabic into Persian and Ottoman Turkish (forms like 'araq'/'rakı'), and entered European languages as 'arak' or 'arrack' in the early modern period.

Initially it referred to the 'sweat' or 'distillate' (the liquid produced by distillation); over time it came to denote specifically the anise‑flavoured distilled spirit now called 'arak'.