palimpsest

noun

pa·limp·sest ˈpa-ləm(p)-ˌsest How to pronounce palimpsest (audio)

pə-ˈlim(p)- How to pronounce palimpsest (audio)

: writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased

: something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface

Canada … is a palimpsest, an overlay of classes and generations.

Margaret Atwood

too short a time to get to know the palimpsest of Genevan societies, let alone those of Switzerland

George Steiner

Did you know?

Long ago, writing surfaces were so rare that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest originally described an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning "scraped again.") Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn't completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, is one of many documents thus recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers.

Example Sentences

The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest.

Recent Examples on the Web This sudden lumpy palimpsest — the absence of his body, the presence of mine — hit me, in that moment, as outrageous and weird and sad and embarrassing and funny.

New York Times, 11 May 2022 The real legacy of this entire ugly debacle, then, may never be fully known: a palimpsest of stories not told, of justice not sought.

Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 2 June 2022 Which is perhaps because Shyne Barrow is an actual 43-year-old palimpsest, a bunch of guys baked into one: the rap phenom, the convict, the religious scholar, the statesman.

Sean Williams, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2022 Istanbul—formerly known as Constantinople, itself formerly known as Byzantium, itself formerly known as Lygos—has a new layer to its renowned palimpsest.

Richard Morgan, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2022 Pendleton, 38, whose work often incorporates language layered like a palimpsest, finds his artistic connection to Simone in a shared commitment to the complexity, at times the indeterminacy, of voice.

New York Times, 16 Mar. 2022 Today, Castine is a palimpsest of four centuries of vying nations, cultural aspirations and historic buildings, with the earliest surviving house dating to the mid-1700s.

Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022 Instead, Columbus and Klein present a palimpsest of erratically overlapping perspectives.

Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Jan. 2022 Television was our combination campfire and nightlight in the days when smoke, dust and ruins hung over downtown New York and a palimpsest of vapor could still be seen in the space the World Trade Center had occupied.

John Anderson, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2021 See More

单词	palimpsest
释义	palimpsest noun pa·limp·sest ˈpa-ləm(p)-ˌsest pə-ˈlim(p)- 1 : writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased 2 : something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface Canada … is a palimpsest, an overlay of classes and generations. Margaret Atwood too short a time to get to know the palimpsest of Genevan societies, let alone those of Switzerland George Steiner Did you know? Long ago, writing surfaces were so rare that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest originally described an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning "scraped again.") Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn't completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, is one of many documents thus recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers. Example Sentences The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest. Recent Examples on the Web This sudden lumpy palimpsest — the absence of his body, the presence of mine — hit me, in that moment, as outrageous and weird and sad and embarrassing and funny. New York Times, 11 May 2022 The real legacy of this entire ugly debacle, then, may never be fully known: a palimpsest of stories not told, of justice not sought. Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 2 June 2022 Which is perhaps because Shyne Barrow is an actual 43-year-old palimpsest, a bunch of guys baked into one: the rap phenom, the convict, the religious scholar, the statesman. Sean Williams, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2022 Istanbul—formerly known as Constantinople, itself formerly known as Byzantium, itself formerly known as Lygos—has a new layer to its renowned palimpsest. Richard Morgan, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2022 Pendleton, 38, whose work often incorporates language layered like a palimpsest, finds his artistic connection to Simone in a shared commitment to the complexity, at times the indeterminacy, of voice. New York Times, 16 Mar. 2022 Today, Castine is a palimpsest of four centuries of vying nations, cultural aspirations and historic buildings, with the earliest surviving house dating to the mid-1700s. Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022 Instead, Columbus and Klein present a palimpsest of erratically overlapping perspectives. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Jan. 2022 Television was our combination campfire and nightlight in the days when smoke, dust and ruins hung over downtown New York and a palimpsest of vapor could still be seen in the space the World Trade Center had occupied. John Anderson, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Latin palimpsestus, from Greek palimpsēstos scraped again, from palin + psēn to rub, scrape; akin to Sanskrit psāti, babhasti he chews First Known Use 1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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palimpsest

noun

Did you know?

Example Sentences

Word History