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Definition of palimpsest - 4 dictionary results
pal⋅imp⋅sest
[pal-imp-sest]
–noun
| a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text. |
Origin:
1655–65; < L palimpsēstus < Gk palímpsēstos rubbed again (pálin again + psēstós scraped, rubbed, verbid of psân to rub smooth)
1655–65; < L palimpsēstus < Gk palímpsēstos rubbed again (pálin again + psēstós scraped, rubbed, verbid of psân to rub smooth)

Related forms:
pal⋅imp⋅ses⋅tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To palimpsest
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Palimpsest
Pal"imp*sest\, n. [L. palimpsestus, Gr. ? scratched or scraped again, ? a palimpsest; ? again + ? 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. --Longfellow.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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palimpsest
"parchment from which earlier writing has been removed to clear it for new writing," 1661, from L. palimpsestus, from Gk. palimpsestos "scraped again," from palin "again" (see palindrome) + verbal adj. of psen "to rub smooth" (of unknown origin).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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