Related Searches
Nearby Words

papyrus

 [puh-pahy-ruhs]   Example Sentences Origin

pa·py·rus

   [puh-pahy-ruhs]
noun, plural -py·ri  [-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.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English papirus < Latin papȳrus < Greek pápȳros

Related forms
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. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To papyrus

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Papyrus is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
  • They have been rubbed off so that vellum and papyrus could be reused.
  • While we're at it, let's push the heck out of stone tablets and papyrus scrolls also.
  • Her role was the physical preservation and piecing together of the codex's crumbling papyrus pages.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
papyrus (pəˈpaɪrəs)
 
—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
Cite This Source
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
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT