[puh-pahy-ruh
s] 
[-pahy-rahy, -ree] , -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. |
[puh-pir-ee-uhn] , pa⋅py⋅rine [puh-pahy-rin] , adjective [pap-uh-rish-uhs] , adjective | pa·py·rus (pə-pī'rəs) n. pl. pa·py·rus·es or pa·py·ri (-rī')
[Middle English papirus, from Latin papȳrus, from Greek papūros.] |