mardijker
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Indonesian merdeka (“free”). Compare to Tagalog maharlika (“freeman”).
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: mar‧dij‧ker
Noun edit
mardijker m (plural mardijkers, diminutive mardijkertje n)
- Former European (especially Dutch) slave, who was converted to Christianity. Mostly used in the time of the VOC presence in Indonesia.