Meanings
proper nounthe Arafura Sea
- A sea lying directly north of Arnhem Land and south of West Papua.
Origin
Uncertain. Some theories of its origin have been presented, such as it deriving from Portuguese Alfours (“free men”), but it is more likely that it is named for the Harrafora, the indigenous name for the "people of the mountains" in the Moluccas. First recorded use dates to at least 1663.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Arafurasee
- Arafuraseesea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Arabic بَحْر آرَافُورَا
- بَحْر آرَافُورَا (baḥr ʔārāfūrā)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Basque Arafura itsasoa
- Arafura itsasoasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Bengali আরাফুরা সাগর
- আরাফুরা সাগর (araphura śagor)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Bulgarian Арафурско море
- Арафурско мореsea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Catalan mar d'Arafura
- mar d'Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Chinese Mandarin 阿拉弗拉海
- 阿拉弗拉海 (ālāfúlāhǎi)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Czech Arafurské moře
- Arafurské mořesea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Danish Arafurahavet
- Arafurahavetsea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Dutch Arafurazee
- Arafurazeesea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Esperanto Arafura maro
- Arafura marosea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Estonian Arafura meri
- Arafura merisea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Finnish Arafuranmeri
- Arafuranmerisea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
French mer d’Arafura
- mer d’Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
German Arafurasee
- Arafuraseesea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Greek Θάλασσα της Αραφούρα
- Θάλασσα της Αραφούρα (Thálassa tis Arafoúra)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Hebrew ים אראפורה
- ים אראפורה (yam arafúra)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Hindi आराफ़ूरा सागर
- आराफ़ूरा सागर (ārāfūrā sāgar)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Hungarian Arafura-tenger
- Arafura-tengersea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Icelandic Arafurahaf
- Arafurahafsea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Indonesian Laut Arafura
- Laut Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Italian mare degli Arafura
- mare degli Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Japanese アラフラ海
- アラフラ海 (Arafura-kai)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Korean 아라푸라해
- 아라푸라해 (arapurahae)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Latvian Arafuru jūra
- Arafuru jūrasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Lithuanian Arafuros jūra
- Arafuros jūrasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Malay Laut Arafura
- Laut Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Norwegian Bokmål Arafurasjøen
- Arafurasjøensea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Persian دریای آرافورا
- دریای آرافورا (daryâ-ye ârâfurâ)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Polish Morze Arafura
- Morze Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Portuguese Mar de Arafura
- Mar de Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Punjabi ਅਰਾਫ਼ੁਰਾ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ
- ਅਰਾਫ਼ੁਰਾ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ (arāfurā samundar)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Romanian Marea Arafura
- Marea Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Russian Арафу́рское мо́ре
- Арафу́рское мо́ре (Arafúrskoje móre)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Slovak Arafurské more
- Arafurské moresea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Spanish mar de Arafura
- mar de Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Swedish Arafurasjön
- Arafurasjönsea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Tamil அரஃபூரா கடல்
- அரஃபூரா கடல் (arafūrā kaṭal)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Thai ทะเลอาราฟูรา
- ทะเลอาราฟูรา (tá-lee aa-raa-fuu-raa)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Turkish Arafura Denizi
- Arafura Denizisea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Ukrainian Арафу́рське мо́ре
- Арафу́рське мо́ре (Arafúrsʹke móre)sea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Vietnamese biển Arafura
- biển Arafurasea between Arnhem Land and West Papua
Cite this entry
APA
Arafura Sea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arafura%20Sea
MLA
“Arafura Sea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arafura%20Sea. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Arafura Sea,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arafura%20Sea.
Source: Arafura Sea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.