Ark - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: Ark

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ark

–noun

1.	(sometimes initial capital letter) Also called Noah's Ark. the large boat built by Noah in which he saved himself, his family, and a pair of every kind of creature during the Flood. Gen. 6–9.

Also called ark of the covenant. a chest or box containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, carried by the Israelites in their wanderings in the desert after the Exodus: the most sacred object of the tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, where it was kept in the holy of holies.

3.	a place of protection or security; refuge; asylum.

4.	(initial capital letter) Judaism. Holy Ark.

5.	a flatboat formerly used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

6.	Nautical. life car.

7.	Archaic. a chest or box.

[Origin: bef. 850; ME ark(e), erke, OE arc, earc(e) (cf. OFris erke, arke, D ark, OHG, Goth arka, ON ǫrk) < L arca chest, coffer, deriv. of arcére to safeguard, c. Hittite ark- hold, possess

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ark

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Ark.

Arkansas.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ark Audio Help (ärk) Pronunciation Key
n.

often Ark Bible The chest containing the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, carried by the Hebrews during their desert wanderings. Also called Ark of the Covenant.
often Ark Judaism The Holy Ark.
Bible The boat built by Noah for survival during the Flood.
Nautical A large, commodious boat.
A shelter or refuge.

[Middle English, from Old English arc, from Germanic *arka, from Latin arca, chest.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ark

O.E. earc, mainly meaning Noah's, from L. arca "large box, chest" (see arcane).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ark
noun
1.	(Judaism) sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments
2.	a boat built by Noah to save his family and animals from the flood