ark

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a boat or ship held to resemble that in which Noah and his family were preserved from the Flood
b
: something that affords protection and safety
2
a
: the sacred chest representing to the Hebrews the presence of God among them
b
: a repository traditionally in or against the wall of a synagogue for the scrolls of the Torah

Ark

2 of 2

abbreviation

Arkansas

Examples of ark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That year the tournament, still men only, ended after the quarterfinals as rain kept coming down and there were reports of Noah preparing his ark. Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Rabbis fashioned substitutes for holy requirements that could no longer be performed: prayers instead of animal sacrifices; arks for Torah scrolls instead of the Temple’s inner sanctum. Marc Tracy, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024 The video ends with him sailing in an ark through a global flood. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2024 The ark is in the horse country of northern Kentucky, and it was built to the specifications given by God to Noah in Genesis. Oliver Whang, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2023 The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a healthy population of almost every African animal Noah managed to squeeze onto the ark. Katie Jackson, Robb Report, 20 Nov. 2023 Ultimate SoCal college football sports bar guide: Find out where to watch your team Sept. 1, 2023 Advertisement When the top college football programs inevitably split off, Stanford and Cal won’t be on that ark. J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023 During the course of the docu, produced by Sandbox Films, a wooden ark is constructed on Cheney’s parent’s property in Maine. Addie Morfoot, Variety, 8 Aug. 2023 America becomes object: a proverbial impossibility, both the flood and the ark. New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ark, arke, arche "chest, box, coffer, the ark of Jewish history, Noah's ark," going back to Old English arc, earc, erce, earce, going back to Germanic *arkō (whence also Old Frisian erke "chest, trunk," arke "Noah's ark," Middle Dutch arke, Old High German arka, arha "chest, box," Old Icelandic ǫrk "chest, sarcophagus, Noah's ark," Gothic arka "chest, money box"), borrowed from Latin arca "chest, coffer, box, coffin," noun derivative from the base of arcēre "to hold in, prevent from approaching, keep away," going back to Indo-European *h2erḱ- "hold, contain," whence also Greek arkeîn "to hold off, repel, provide protection, assist, suffice" (probably as verbal derivative of árkos "defense"), Hittite ḫark- "hold, keep, have"

Note: Also hypothesized as nominal derivatives of *h2erḱ-, with somewhat less probability, are Old High German rigil "bolt of a door" (< *h2reḱ-l-?), Lithuanian rãktas "key," rakìnti "to lock," and Armenian argel "hindrance, obstacle, ward, prison" (< *h2rḱ- plus a suffix?). The lack of a palatovelar reflex in Lithuanian and Armenian would have to be explained, perhaps by positing a plain velar.

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of ark was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ark

Cite this Entry

“Ark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ark. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ark

noun
1
: the ship in which Noah and his family were saved from the Flood
2
a
: a sacred chest in which the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets of the Law
b
: a place in a synagogue for the scrolls of the Torah

More from Merriam-Webster on ark

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