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palimpsest Definition

pal·imp·sest (pal′imp sest′)

noun

a parchment, tablet, etc. that has been written upon or inscribed two or three times, the previous text or texts having been imperfectly erased and remaining, therefore, still partly visible

Etymology: L palimpsestus < Gr palimpsēstos, lit., rubbed again < palin, again (see palindrome) + psēn, to rub smooth < IE base *bhes-, to rub off, pulverize > L sabulum, sand

palimpsest Synonyms

palimpsest

n.

re-inscription, overwritten, document, writing; see manuscript.

palimpsest Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • history: It is a palimpsest of agricultural history created as a by-product of farming.
  • activity: A palimpsest of activities have produced this monument -- now as much as in prehistory.

Converse of object

become: As Hatoum struggles to rise, her limbs mark the sides of the container until they become a palimpsest of muddy traces.

Adjective modifier

  • visual: And, when you watch the tapes, there are also visual palimpsests.
  • rich: The lowland English farming landscape is a rich palimpsest of settlement and exploitation.

Modifies a noun

  • review: Palimpsest Reviews Other Reviews Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Tertiary Phase et al.
  • group: Somehow that triggered the idea of a Palimpsest film group.
  • brass: A smashing palimpsest brass lies about ten feet to the south.
  • text: Palimpsest texts on a stilus tablet separated using phase congruency shadow stereo.
  • copy: Feel free to splash the cash and buy the official Palimpsest copy, and share it round.

Browse dictionary entries near palimpsest

  1. ‹ palimony
  2. ‹ Palikir
  3. ‹ Pali
  4. ‹ Palgrave
  5. ‹ palfrey
  6. ‹ Paley, William S.
  7. ‹ Paley
  8. ‹ palette knife
  9. ‹ palette
  10. ‹ paletot
  1. palindrome ›
  2. paling ›
  3. palingenesis ›
  4. palinode ›
  5. palisade ›
  6. palisade parenchyma ›
  7. palisades ›
  8. palish ›
  9. pall ›
  10. pall-mall ›