Vellum
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A type of parchment paper made from the skin of a lamb, baby goat, or calf. countable, uncountable
"Little, however, of the wall was seen, for it was nearly hidden by the arched book-cases; and the ponderous tomes, mostly bound in black or white vellum, long since grown dingy with age, contrasted forcibly with the gayer ornaments of their habitation."
- 2 fine parchment prepared from the skin of a young animal e.g. a calf or lamb wordnet
- 3 A writing paper of very high quality. countable, uncountable
- 4 a heavy creamy-colored paper resembling parchment wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Little, however, of the wall was seen, for it was nearly hidden by the arched book-cases; and the ponderous tomes, mostly bound in black or white vellum, long since grown dingy with age, contrasted forcibly with the gayer ornaments of their habitation."
Etymology
From Old French velin (French vélin), from Latin vitulinus (“of a calf”), as if derived from Old French veel (“veal”).
Related phrases
More for "vellum"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.