Palimpsest
noun
A manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing.
Archaeologists discovered a palimpsest in the old monastery, originally a Greek document with a Latin text written over it.
Often appears as...
- ancient palimpsest
- discover a palimpsest
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
Something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
The city is a palimpsest, layered with centuries of history, with relics of past inhabitants visible in its architecture.
Often appears as...
- city is a palimpsest
- cultural palimpsest
Usage tips
Formal
noun
A manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing.
Archaeologists discovered a palimpsest in the old monastery, originally a Greek document with a Latin text written over it.
Often appears as...
- ancient palimpsest
- discover a palimpsest
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
Something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
The city is a palimpsest, layered with centuries of history, with relics of past inhabitants visible in its architecture.
Often appears as...
- city is a palimpsest
- cultural palimpsest
Usage tips
Formal
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Layers
A palimpsest often contains layers of history, giving insights into different time periods.
Examining the palimpsest, we explored the medieval texts beneath the Renaissance writings.
Pro Tip 2/3Academic Tone
Use 'palimpsest' in formal or academic discussions about history or manuscripts.
The scholar referred to the document as a palimpsest during her lecture on Byzantine scripts.
Pro Tip 3/3Physical Alteration
'Palimpsest' implies physical changes, where original texts are scraped or washed off.
The ancient palimpsest revealed its hidden text after careful restoration.
Compare with
documentmanuscriptparchmentrecordscrolltextwrite
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Video examples
Who IS Sherlock Holmes -...
So let's return to our question. Would the real Sherlock Holmes please stand up? The truth is that this world of adaptation has made him into a palimpsest. Sherlock is a cultural text, repeatedly altered over time as each new interpretation becomes superimposed
Video examples
Richard Seymour: How...
Ahhhh. It is really -- I mean, I can't express to you how exquisite this object is. But I also know why it's exquisite to me, because it's a palimpsest of things. It's masses and masses of layers.
Video examples
Who IS Sherlock Holmes -...
So let's return to our question. Would the real Sherlock Holmes please stand up? The truth is that this world of adaptation has made him into a palimpsest. Sherlock is a cultural text, repeatedly altered over time as each new interpretation becomes superimposed
Video examples
Richard Seymour: How...
Ahhhh. It is really -- I mean, I can't express to you how exquisite this object is. But I also know why it's exquisite to me, because it's a palimpsest of things. It's masses and masses of layers.
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Jonathan Safran Foer
American Writer
Jews have a special relationship to books, and the Haggadah has been translated more widely, and reprinted more often, than any other Jewish book. It is not a work of history or philosophy, not a prayer book, user's manual, timeline, poem or palimpsest - and yet it is all these things.
Quote examples
Kevin Young
We quickly erase hoaxes once exposed, excising the monstrous palimpsest, because as with any witch hunt or obvious fake, afterward we can't quite explain why we ever believed the outrageous thing in the first place.
Quote examples
Thomas Chatterton Williams
American Critic
Paris has long been a palimpsest of different cities, each new iteration grafted on top of the still visible last, spanning the extremes of human excellence and beauty and, just as crucially, filth and squalor.
Quote examples
Russell Hoban
American Novelist
Language is an archaeological vehicle... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history.
Quote examples
Jonathan Safran Foer
American Writer
Jews have a special relationship to books, and the Haggadah has been translated more widely, and reprinted more often, than any other Jewish book. It is not a work of history or philosophy, not a prayer book, user's manual, timeline, poem or palimpsest - and yet it is all these things.
Quote examples
Kevin Young
We quickly erase hoaxes once exposed, excising the monstrous palimpsest, because as with any witch hunt or obvious fake, afterward we can't quite explain why we ever believed the outrageous thing in the first place.
Quote examples
Thomas Chatterton Williams
American Critic
Paris has long been a palimpsest of different cities, each new iteration grafted on top of the still visible last, spanning the extremes of human excellence and beauty and, just as crucially, filth and squalor.
Quote examples
Russell Hoban
American Novelist
Language is an archaeological vehicle... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history.
Example 1 of 4
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