Panida (Dijkman 2013)

Panida means 'lime' or 'limestone'. The origins of the name Panida, or Penida - a phonetic alteration which would seem to be caused by the additional diacritical sign 'pepet' assigned on top of the first 'a' in the original Aksara Bali script, perhaps arbitrarily (?) - has been historically interpreted in a number of ways.

image: Van der Tuuk and Zoetmulder

'Panida', according to Van der Tuuk in his 'Kawi-Balineesch-Nederlandsch woordenboek', volume 4, p.19, on the bottom left, reveals the following: 'tahên panida, kayu apuh'. 'Kapur, pamor' and 'apuh' all mean the same thing: lime, with or without 'bubuk' in front of it (quicklime; Dutch: ongebluste kalk). For the meaning of 'tahên', we refer to 'Old Javanese - English Dictionary' by Zoetmulder. 'Tahên' is a homonym, an Old Javanese word meaning 'tree, wood, firewood'. There is another meaning of 'tahên' in Old Javanese, which in combination with for instance 'heart' means 'to respect or to be full of awe of something'.

According to Ida Bagus Sidemen and a number of other writers, 'Penida' in Bahasa Indonesia would stand for 'Kapur kotor' (dirty limestone/chalk), but this is not corroborated by any source. An online definition of the chemical substance Calcium Oxide, Bahasa Indonesia reveals: 'Kapur bakaran; kapur and kaustik kapur', English: 'caustic lime'; Dutch 'ongebluste kalk'. Would 'kotor' (dirty) mean 'bakar'? Surely not.

Therefore, the additional qualification of 'dirty' seems misplaced and somehow represents a negative connotation attributed to the island, which - in the author's mind - merits no further reference.

Source

• Tuuk, Herman Neubronner van der - 'Kawi-Balineesch-Nederlandsch woordenboek'; Batavia, Landsdrukkerij, 4 volumes (1897-1912)
• Zoetmulder, Petrus Josephus - Old Javanese - English Dictionary / Kamus Jawa Kuna - Indonesia' (in collaboration with S.O Robson), 1901/1982
• Hinzler, Dr. H.I.R. - personal correspondence, May 2013