palimpsest
Americannoun
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a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text.
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something that has a new layer, aspect, or appearance that builds on its past and allows us to see or perceive parts of this past: Today's towering Romanesque-Gothic structure is a palimpsest, the result of numerous additions and reconstructions.
Most of what we actually see when we view any culture is a historical palimpsest, with traces of former times.
Today's towering Romanesque-Gothic structure is a palimpsest, the result of numerous additions and reconstructions.
Memory is a palimpsest that is continually being written over, but never perfectly so.
noun
adjective
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(of a text) written on a palimpsest
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(of a document) used as a palimpsest
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of palimpsest
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin palimpsēstus, from Greek palímpsēstos “rubbed again” ( pálin “again” + psēstós “scraped, rubbed,” past participle of psân “to rub smooth”)
Explanation
If you are writing fast and hastily erase something not quite all the way and continue writing right over the smudgy bit, then you’ve created a palimpsest — which means you can see traces of the earlier writing mixed in with the new. The noun palimpsest originally described a document, such as a page from a manuscript written on parchment, that had been rubbed smooth so it could be used again, with traces of the original writing showing through. The word still carries that meaning, but ancient manuscripts are rare these days, so you’re more likely to hear palimpsest used to describe something that has traces of early stages showing through, like "the palimpsest of an urban neighborhood" — in which hints of earlier styles and designs are still evident among the new highrises.
Vocabulary lists containing palimpsest
1984
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The Handmaid's Tale
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Chiasson sets about peeling back the layers on the palimpsest of Mr. Sanders’s life.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
After so many years, St. Mark’s Church is a palimpsest of memories for Mullins.
From New York Times • May 6, 2024
“They have this palimpsest of a billion years of history.”
From Science Magazine • Jan. 9, 2024
“She’s creating a palimpsest of different eras,” he says, noting that unlike L.A.’s streets, which are the city’s responsibility for upkeep, sidewalks are built and maintained by private developers.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2023
“The Institute is a palimpsest all its own. Remember that word I taught you?”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
