noun
the others; the remainder
Archaic or highly literary noun meaning 'the rest' or 'the others'. Not used in modern everyday Japanese; encountered only in classical texts or very formal historical writing.
古い文献では、「自余の者」のように使われることがある。
In old documents, it is sometimes used as in '自余の者' (the remaining people).
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 自 (self) and 余 (remainder) combine to suggest 'what remains besides oneself', i.e., the others. The variant 爾余 uses an archaic character for 'you' or 'that', but the historical relationship is unclear.