parchment

American  

[pahrch-muhnt] / ˈpɑrtʃ mənt /

noun

1. the skin of sheep, goats, etc., prepared for use as a material on which to write.

2. a manuscript or document on such material.

3. a stiff, off-white paper resembling this material.

4. a diploma.

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parchment British  

/ ˈpɑːtʃmənt /

noun

1. the skin of certain animals, such as sheep, treated to form a durable material, as for bookbinding, or (esp formerly) manuscripts

2. a manuscript, bookbinding, etc, made of or resembling this material

3. a type of stiff yellowish paper resembling parchment

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Other Word Forms

• parchmentlike
  adjective
• parchmenty
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of parchment

1275–1325; late Middle English < Middle French, Old French ( parche < Latin Parthica ( pellis ) Parthian (leather) + -ment (compare Medieval Latin percamentum, Dutch perkament )); replacing Middle English parchemin < Old French ( -min < Medieval Latin pergamīnum, variant of pergamēnum, for Late Latin Pergamēna charta paper of Pergamum )

Explanation

Parchment is what people used to write on before paper was common, hundreds of years ago. Instead of being made from trees, parchment was made from animal skins. As early as the second century BCE, ancient Greeks invented a method of treating animal skins to make a writing surface, parchment, that was less expensive than the papyrus they used before that. Parchment continued to be used through the 1400s, when Europeans began making paper. These days, you're most likely to see parchment in a museum or historical movie. The word comes from the name of the city where it was invented, Pergamon.

Example Sentences

“But the U.S. Constitution is neither bone nor stone. It is an explosion of ideas. Parchment decays and ink fades, but ideas endure; they also change.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2025

Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica had withdrawn from the race with an injury earlier in the evening, opening the door for England's Pozzi and compatriot Joshua Zeller.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2022

Parchment paper can go in the oven, but wax paper cannot go in the oven.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2022

Olympic champions Armand Duplantis and Hansle Parchment won their events after losing in Lausanne less than two days earlier.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2021

Parchment, quills, and books spilled out of it onto the floor.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling