ark

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the great vessel that Noah built to preserve his family and animals from the biblical flood

   The stained-glass window showed a dove returning to Noah's ark.

2. 2
   noun

   a sacred chest, especially the Ark of the Covenant in the Hebrew Bible

   The account describes the ark as a gold-covered chest containing the tablets of the law.

3. 3
   noun

   a place or vessel that provides refuge or preserves something from danger

   The seed vault was designed as an ark for threatened crop varieties.

From Middle English arke and Old English earc, borrowed from Latin arca ("chest, box"), related to arcere ("to enclose"). The Latin word translated both the biblical vessel of Noah and the sacred chest of the Covenant; the protective function later encouraged figurative uses for a refuge or means of preservation.

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