Etymology

Alfur

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Today it means: Any of the indigenous peoples of the Moluccas having Melanesian or Austronesian ancestry and not integrated into Malay‑speaking, Islamised, or Christianised, coastal polities. Full definition →

Dutch Alfoer ← Portuguese alfouro, alforro ← Arabic الحرّ
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromحر“free, not bound”
  2. Arabic · derived fromالحرّ“the free”
  3. Portuguese · derived fromalfouro, alforro“free; not enslaved”
  4. Dutch · borrowed fromAlfoer
  5. English todayAlfur

From Dutch Alfoer, from Portuguese alfouro, alforro (“free; not enslaved”), from Arabic الحرّ (al‑ḥurr, “the free”), ultimately from Arabic حر (“free, not bound”). Compare Malay Alfuru, Alfura.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.