ARACK, or RACK, a spirituous liquor imported from the East Indies, used by way of dram and in punch. The word arack is an Indian name for strong waters of all kinds; for they call our spirits and brandy English arack. But what we understand by the name arack, is really no other than a spirit procured by distillation from a vegetable juice called toddy, which flows by incision out of the cocoa-nut tree, like the birch juice procured among us.

The toddy is a pleasant drink by itself, when new, and purges those who are not used to it; and, when stale, it is heady, and makes good vinegar. The English at Madras use it as leaven to raise their bread with.

Goa and Batavia are the chief places for arack. At Goa there are different kinds; single, double, and treble distilled. The double distilled, which is that commonly sent abroad, is but a weak spirit in comparison to Batavia arack: yet, on account of its peculiar and agreeable flavour, it is preferred to all other aracks of India. This is attributed to the earthen vessels, which alone they use at Goa to draw the spirit; whereas at Batavia they use copper flasks. The Parier arack made at Madras, and the Colombo and Quilon arack at other places, being fiery hot spirits, are but little valued by the Europeans, and therefore seldom imported, though highly prized among the natives.

ARÆ PHILENON, or PHILENONUM, (Strabo): to the south of the Syrtis Major; but in Peutinger, more westerly, to the south almost of the Syrtis Minor. In Strabo's time, the altars were not extant, but a village of the same name stood on the spot. On a dispute about limits, between the Cyrenaics and Carthaginians, it was agreed that two of each people should set out on the same day, and that where they should happen to meet, there the limits of both should be fixed. The Phileni, two brothers, Carthaginians, undertook it for Carthage: these, after having advanced a great many miles into the territory of the Cyrenaics, were met by their antagonists; who, enraged at their being before-hand with them so far, gave them the option of either returning back, or of being buried alive on the spot: like zealous patriots, they chose the latter; and there the Carthaginians raised two altars in honour of the Phileni. (Sallust, Valerius Maximus).

ARÆOMETER, an instrument to measure the gravity. ARÆOSTYLE, in architecture, a term used by Vitruvius, to signify the greatest interval which can be made between columns.

ARÆOTICS, in medicine, remedies which rarify the humours, and render them easy to be carried off by the pores of the skin.