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Palimpsest: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Palimpsest noun. A manuscript scraped clean and written over; also anything that shows layers of its past beneath the present.
How to say it
PAL-imp-sest/ˈpalɪm(p)sɛst/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (PAL). Forms: palimpsests.
Palimpsest in a sentence
Scanners revealed a lost work of Archimedes on a palimpsest beneath a prayer book.
The old high street is a palimpsest, with faded shop signs peeking through new paint.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- layered record
- overwritten document
Where palimpsest comes from
From Greek palimpsēstos, scraped again, from palin, again, and psēn, to rub smooth.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
The old high street is a _____, with faded shop signs peeking through new paint.
- tsundoku
- palimpsest
- neologism
Show the answer
palimpsest: The old high street is a palimpsest, with faded shop signs peeking through new paint.