palimpsest

[ pal-imp-sest ]

noun

1. a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text.
2. something that has a new layer, aspect, or appearance that builds on its past and allows us to see or perceive parts of this past: Today's towering Romanesque-Gothic structure is a palimpsest, the result of numerous additions and reconstructions.

   Most of what we actually see when we view any culture is a historical palimpsest, with traces of former times.

   Today's towering Romanesque-Gothic structure is a palimpsest, the result of numerous additions and reconstructions.

   Memory is a palimpsest that is continually being written over, but never perfectly so.

palimpsest

/ ˈpælɪmpˌsɛst /

noun

1. a manuscript on which two or more successive texts have been written, each one being erased to make room for the next

adjective

1. (of a text) written on a palimpsest
2. (of a document) used as a palimpsest

Other Words From

• pal·imp·ses·tic [pal-imp-, ses, -tik] adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of palimpsest¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin palimpsēstus, from Greek palímpsēstos “rubbed again” ( pálin “again” + psēstós “scraped, rubbed,” past participle of psân “to rub smooth”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of palimpsest¹

C17: from Latin palimpsestus parchment cleaned for reuse, from Greek palimpsēstos, from palin again + psēstos rubbed smooth, from psēn to scrape

Example Sentences

After so many years, St. Mark’s Church is a palimpsest of memories for Mullins.

From New York Times

“They have this palimpsest of a billion years of history.”

From Science Magazine

“The Institute is a palimpsest all its own. Remember that word I taught you?”

From Literature

“She’s creating a palimpsest of different eras,” he says, noting that unlike L.A.’s streets, which are the city’s responsibility for upkeep, sidewalks are built and maintained by private developers.

From Los Angeles Times

But Ms. Rolikova, the innkeeper, thought it was important to see it, and so she opened the padlocked door to reveal a palimpsest of Russia over the past century.

From New York Times

Related Words

• article
• document
• text