lontar

Etymology

From Balinese lontar, Indonesian lontar, from Old Javanese rontal.

lontar means the palmyra or leaves of this tree as used for palm-leaf manuscripts in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.

Why “lontar” is a great word

LONTAR — [Noun] The prepared leaf of the palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer), used as a traditional writing material for manuscripts in Indonesia and Malaysia. From Balinese and Indonesian lontar, from Old Javanese rontal, from ron ("leaf") + tal (a type of palm, Borassus flabellifer). Unlike parchment—a medium of scraped animal skin, redolent of the tannery and scriptorium—or codex, which implies the heft and sequence of bound pages, lontar is the quiet democracy of the plant world pressed into service. It is the soft scritch of a stylus on a cured leaf, the faint botanical scent of knowledge released by turning a cord-bound folio, and the elegant, enduring black of lampblack ink against the pale, fibrous grain. Each leaf is a testament to civilizations built not on stone, but on what the wind could sway—a library that grew from the ground, patiently awaiting its inscriptions.

noun

The palmyra or leaves of this tree as used for palm-leaf manuscripts in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.“The nature of these powers is written in the sacred palms leaf books, the lontars, in which all sacred Balinese writings are preserved.”