Palimpsest

//ˈpælɪmpsɛst// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A manuscript or document that has been erased or scraped clean, for reuse of the paper, parchment, vellum, or other medium on which it was written.
  2. 2
    a manuscript (usually written on papyrus or parchment) on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible wordnet
  3. 3
    Monumental brasses that have been reused by engraving of the blank back side. archaic
  4. 4
    Circular features believed to be lunar craters that have been obliterated by later volcanic activity.
  5. 5
    Geological features thought to be related to features or effects below the surface.
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Memory that has been erased and re-written.
  2. 7
    The partial erasure of or superimposition on an older society or culture by a newer one.
  3. 8
    Something bearing the traces of an earlier, erased form.

    "But on her he did not see even the palimpsest of a smile."

  4. 9
    A text with several layers of meaning, especially pertaining to different points in time.

    "Miraculously, the Stasi's record of Garton Ash's years in Berlin remained intact, and in his extraordinary book The File he recalls going back to Berlin, sifting through the material, and piecing together those years for himself. The result is a palimpsest of memories, observations recorded by informants and agents, and the recollections in his own diaries at that time."

Verb
  1. 1
    To scrape clean, as in parchment, for reuse.
  2. 2
    On paper: to reuse, often by erasure or change of pen direction or color. Especially fueled by Earth Day.

    "Typically refers to a multi-layered work, e.g.: new ads covering old on a roadside sign."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

Etymology 2

From Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

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