pontianak

[ pon-tee-ah-nahk ]

/ ˌpɒn tiˈɑ nɑk /

Origin of pontianak

First recorded in 1910–15; orig., jelutong from the region around Pontianak

Pontianak

[ pon-tee-ah-nahk ]

/ ˌpɒn tiˈɑ nɑk /

a seaport on W Kalimantan (Borneo), in central Indonesia.

About the same time a British expedition was also sent against Sambas and a post established at Pontianak.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 |Various
How strange it must be living in a town like Pontianak, in West Borneo, where the equator passes through the main street!

Forty Thousand Miles Over Land and Water |Lady (Ethel Gwendoline [Moffatt]) Vincent
That night I stayed in Pontianak which is bisected by the Equator.

Flash-lights from the Seven Seas |William L. Stidger
There is great virtue for instance, in the long hair of the Pontianak, the cruel sprite that haunts the waringin tree.

Java, Facts and Fancies |Augusta de Wit

The Kapuas valley has so far yielded the largest quantity, and Pontianak is, for diamonds, the principal port of export.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 |Various

pontianak

/ (ˌpɒntɪˈɑːnæk) /

(in Malay folklore) a female vampire; the ghost of a woman who has died in childbirth

from Malay

Pontianak

/ (ˌpɒntɪˈɑːnæk) /

a port in Indonesia, on W coast of Borneo almost exactly on the equator. Pop: 464 534 (2000)