Maluku

Meaning

1. Synonym of Moluccas.
2. A province of Indonesia. Capital: Ambon.

Etymology / origin

The islands are said to have been named Arabic جَزِيرَات المَلِك (jazīrāt al-malik, literally “king islands”) by Arab merchants. However, since the name itself has been mentioned in a 14th-century Majapahit eulogy, Nagarakretagama, that predates the arrival of Islam in Maluku at the late fifteenth century, other sources claim that the name comes from a local language with the meaning "the head of a bull" or "the head of something large".

Sources

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