# Moluccas

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /məˈlʌkəz/ · frequency rank #99,583

## Definitions
1. An archipelago of Indonesia.

## Etymology
From Maluku, thought to have been derived from the term used by Arab traders for the region, Arabic جَزِيرَات المَلِك (jazīrāt al-malik, literally “king islands”), from the word مَلِك (malik). 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".

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/moluccas