Banjarmasin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A city on the southern coast of the island of Borneo in Indonesia, serving as the capital of South Kalimantan province
2. The largest city in southern Borneo, an Indonesian port and administrative center located in South Kalimantan
3. A port city in the south of Borneo within Indonesia that functions as the provincial capital of South Kalimantan

Etymology: Banjarmasin is the name of a city on the south coast of Borneo, in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan, and the English word is simply that place name carried over from Indonesian. The city's name is generally traced to the Banjar people who settled the area, with "masin" connected to the Malay word for salt, a nod to the brackish, saltwater-influenced river setting, though the exact derivation is debated and should be treated with caution. In English the name appears as a proper noun, so it is capitalised and used for the city itself, the surrounding region, or the Banjar language associated with the area. Its use in English is largely confined to geographical, historical, and linguistic contexts, where it identifies the place rather than carrying any figurative sense.