Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

palimpsest

pal′imp-sest

(păl′ĭmp-sĕst)
,
Noun.
[L.
palimpsestus
, Gr.
παλίμψηστοσ
scratched or scraped again,
παλίμψηστον
a palimpsest;
πάλιν
again +
ψῆν
to rub, rub away: cf. F.
palimpseste
.]
A parchment which has been written upon twice, the first writing having been erased to make place for the second. The erasures of ancient writings were usually carried on in monasteries, to allow the production of ecclesiastical texts, such as copies of church services and lives of the saints. The difficulty of recovering the original text varied with the process used to prepare the parchment for a fresh writing; the original texts on parchments which had been washed with lime-water and dried were easily recovered by a chemical process, but those erased by scraping the parchment and bleaching are difficult to interpret. Most of the manuscripts underlying the palimpsests that have been revived are fragmentary, but some are of great historical value. One Syriac version of the Four Gospels was discovered in 1895 in St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai by
Mrs. Agnes Smith Lewis
. See also the notes below.
Longfellow.

Definition 2024

Palimpsest

Palimpsest

See also: palimpsest

German

Noun

Palimpsest m, n ‎(genitive Palimpsests or Palimpsestes, plural Palimpseste)

  1. palimpsest

Declension

Masculine declension
Neuter declension

palimpsest

palimpsest

See also: Palimpsest

English

A section of the Codex Ephraemi from the National Library in Paris, containing Matt. 20:16-23. An example of a palimpsest.

Noun

palimpsest ‎(plural palimpsests)

  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. (archaic) Monumental brasses that have been reused by engraving of the blank back side.
  3. (astronomy) Circular features believed to be lunar craters that have been obliterated by later volcanic activity.
  4. (geology) Geological features thought to be related to features or effects below the surface.
  5. (computing) Memory that has been erased and re-written.
  6. (cultural studies) The partial erasure of or superimposition on an older society or culture by a newer one.
  7. Something bearing the traces of an earlier, erased form.
    • 2005, Patrick Radden Keefe, Chatter:
      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.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:palimpsest.

Synonyms

  • codex rescriptus

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

palimpsest ‎(third-person singular simple present palimpsests, present participle palimpsesting, simple past and past participle palimpsested)

  1. To scrape clean, as in parchment, for reuse.
  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.

Anagrams

Czech

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

Noun

palimpsest m

  1. palimpsest

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

Noun

palimpsest c (singular definite palimpsesten, plural indefinite palimpsester)

  1. palimpsest

Declension

References

Polish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

Noun

palimpsest m inan

  1. palimpsest

Declension

Romanian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pa.limpˈsest]

Noun

palimpsest n ‎(plural palimpseste)

  1. palimpsest

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /palǐmpsest/
  • Hyphenation: pa‧lim‧psest

Noun

palìmpsest m ‎(Cyrillic spelling палѝмпсест)

  1. palimpsest

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /palimpˈséːst/
  • Tonal orthography: palimpsẹ̑st

Noun

palimpsést m inan ‎(genitive palimpsésta, nominative plural palimpsésti)

  1. palimpsest

Declension

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος ‎(palímpsēstos)

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