parchment

[ pahrch-muhnt ]

noun

1. the skin of sheep, goats, etc., prepared for use as a material on which to write.
2. a manuscript or document on such material.
3. a stiff, off-white paper resembling this material.
4. a diploma.

parchment

/ ˈpɑːtʃmənt /

noun

1. the skin of certain animals, such as sheep, treated to form a durable material, as for bookbinding, or (esp formerly) manuscripts
2. a manuscript, bookbinding, etc, made of or resembling this material
3. a type of stiff yellowish paper resembling parchment

Derived Forms

• ˈparchmenty, adjective

Other Words From

• parchment·like parchment·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of parchment¹

1275–1325; late Middle English < Middle French, Old French ( parche < Latin Parthica ( pellis ) Parthian (leather) + -ment (compare Medieval Latin percamentum, Dutch perkament )); replacing Middle English parchemin < Old French ( -min < Medieval Latin pergamīnum, variant of pergamēnum, for Late Latin Pergamēna charta paper of Pergamum )

Word History and Origins

Origin of parchment¹

C13: from Old French parchemin, via Latin from Greek pergamēnē, from Pergamēnos of Pergamum (where parchment was made); the form of Old French parchemin was influenced by parche leather, from Latin Parthica ( pellis ) Parthian (leather)

Example Sentences

If a half-senile demagogue can knock down supposedly powerful institutions like nine-pins, then our own personal rights, backed up not by money and power but by a scrap of parchment in the hands of a corrupt court, are worthless.

From Salon

“Cut a piece of parchment that is as wide as the long sides of the loaf pan, spray the pan with a bit of nonstick spray and then put the parchment paper into the pan, leaving it just long enough to come a bit over the sides of the pan.”

From Salon

When the cake is ready to come out of the pan, bakers can run a knife along the short sides of the pan and then gently lift it out by holding the parchment..

From Salon

Grant Holloway was the Tokyo favourite until he “lost composure” in his words and allowed Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment to thunder past.

From BBC

And the series is not short of funny moments - there's a bolshie Pakistani BMW driver who is convinced that Queenie is in love with him, a grandma who warns Queenie about Gemini men and a best friend, Kyazike, who refers to Queenie's boyfriend as "the ivory king" and "parchment paper papi".

From BBC