jeruk (Indonesian)

Where does "jeruk" come from?

The Indonesian word "jeruk" has deep roots in Southeast Asian linguistic history, likely evolving from the Proto-Mon-Khmer term "*kruuc" for citrus. It traveled through Old Javanese as "jruk," which historically described both citrus fruits and preserved foods, before spreading into modern Javanese, Sundanese, and Malay. Today, the term serves as the common word for citrus fruits across much of the region.

Full etymology tree

• jeruk (Indonesian), 'citrus, lemon, orange'
  • inherited jeruk (Malay), 'pickled, preserved'
    • derived jeruk (Javanese), 'romanization of ꦗꦼꦫꦸꦏ꧀'
      • inherited jruk (Old Javanese), 'citrus, lemon, orange'
        • inherited *kruuc (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
        • inherited *kruəc (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
        • inherited yorik (East Makian)
    • derived jeruk (Sundanese), 'citrus, lemon, orange'
      • inherited jruk (Old Javanese), 'citrus, lemon, orange'
        • inherited *kruuc (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
        • inherited *kruəc (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
        • inherited yorik (East Makian)

Ancestors

• jeruk (Malay)
• jeruk (Javanese)
• ᮏᮨᮛᮥᮊ᮪ (Sundanese)
• jruk (Old Javanese)

Descendants and derived words

• jeruk bali (Indonesian)
• jeruk manis (Indonesian)
• jeruk nipis (Indonesian)

Updated June 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris