pa·py·rus

[puh-pahy-ruhs]
noun, plural pa·py·ri [-pahy-rahy, -ree] , pa·py·rus·es.
1.
a tall, aquatic plant, Cyperus papyrus, of the sedge family, native to the Nile valley: the Egyptian subspecies, C. papyrus hadidii, thought to be common in ancient times, now occurs only in several sites.
2.
a material on which to write, prepared from thin strips of the pith of this plant laid together, soaked, pressed, and dried, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
3.
an ancient document, manuscript, or scroll written on this material.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English papirus < Latin papȳrus < Greek pápȳros

pa·py·ral, pa·pyr·i·an [puh-pir-ee-uhn] , pa·py·rine [puh-pahy-rin] , adjective
pap·y·ri·tious [pap-uh-rish-uhs] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Papyrus
00:10
Papyrus is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
papyrus (pəˈpaɪrəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -ri, -ruses
1.  a tall aquatic cyperaceous plant, Cyperus papyrus, of S Europe and N and central Africa with small green-stalked flowers arranged like umbrella spokes around the stem top
2.  a kind of paper made from the stem pith of this plant, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans
3.  an ancient document written on this paper
 
[C14: via Latin from Greek papūros reed used in making paper]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

papyrus
c.1395, from L. papyrus "the paper plant, paper made from it," from Gk. papyros "any plant of the paper plant genus," said to be of Egyptian origin. Proper plural is papyri.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The ancient papyrus pages had been scattered into nearly a thousand fragments that crumbled at even the slightest touch.
Egyptians kept similar records on papyrus, which deteriorates faster than clay.
Ibex and oryx will scatter at your approach, loping to higher ground as you wind among the arching papyrus reeds.
Instead, they had to be written on materials such as papyrus, animal hide and even partially on copper.
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