parchment

American  

[pahrch-muhnt] / ˈpɑrtʃ mənt /

noun

parchments plural

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parchmentlike
  adjective
• parchmenty
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parchments
  plural

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

See Examples For:

parchment parchments

Older versions of the story exist on clay tablets, but the water-damaged sections of parchment kept at the Manchester library are the most ancient version of the epic in "book" form.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The text formed part of what is known as a codex, where parchment sheets were folded to create pages and marked out to create book numbers to help readers navigate.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Heat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026

You have to believe in what is under the lid, behind the frost, wrapped in parchment, waiting to become itself again.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Mother has given me some ink and parchment paper.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

There are no secret documents or Ark of the Covenant filled with parchments detailing punt returns, two-point plays or gunner lanes stored away on family property, they say.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022

The National Archives rotunda where they sit is dim and chilly, for conservation reasons, and visitors shuffling past the displays can see why — the parchments are faded and hardly legible.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2018

The parchments were knock-offs of the calligraphy-filled, personalized Apostolic Blessing parchments that are sold inside the Vatican by Francis' chief alms-giver to fund the pope's charitable efforts.

From US News ● Dec. 14, 2015

Walls are clad in paper parchments, mica and painted bamboo; while chairs are wrapped in woven and plush knitted fabrics.

From Forbes ● Feb. 8, 2015

“Have those parchments told you anything of use?”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin