papyrus
[puh-pahy-ruh s]
- a tall, aquatic plant, Cyperus papyrus, of the sedge family, native to the Nile valley: the Egyptian subspecies, C. papyrus hadidii, thought to be common in ancient times, now occurs only in several sites.
- a material on which to write, prepared from thin strips of the pith of this plant laid together, soaked, pressed, and dried, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
- an ancient document, manuscript, or scroll written on this material.
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Origin of papyrus
1350–1400; Middle English papirus < Latin papȳrus < Greek pápȳros
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
sheetposternotepadstationerycardstreamerragparchmentvellumpapyrustissuenewsprintletterheaddiplomapaperscrollpalimpsestsheepskinscheduleExamples from the Web for papyrus
Contemporary Examples
This past week a new eBay auction announced the sale of “Ancient Egyptian papyrus with Greek letters—Bible.”
Unfortunately, the papyrus was too fragile to allow for carbon testing of the ink.
Francis Watson argued that all of the fragmentary sentences preserved on the papyrus are also found in the Gospel of Thomas.
To make matters more complicated, a third-century fragment of papyrus found in ancient Egypt gives the number 616 instead of 666.
Historical Examples
We have mummy wheat,—cloth of papyrus, which is a kind of straw.
Proserpina, Volume 1John Ruskin
Wreaths of papyrus crowned these dishes with their green foliage.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5Theophile Gautier
Papyrus, like the art of writing upon it, came originally from Egypt.
Romulus, Makers of HistoryJacob Abbott
It was impossible to get it away without tearing the outer sheets of papyrus.
CleopatraH. Rider Haggard
The pond is edged by papyrus plants, which are alternately in blossom and in bud.
History of PhoeniciaGeorge Rawlinson
papyrus
- a tall aquatic cyperaceous plant, Cyperus papyrus, of S Europe and N and central Africa with small green-stalked flowers arranged like umbrella spokes around the stem top
- a kind of paper made from the stem pith of this plant, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans
- an ancient document written on this paper
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Word Origin
C14: via Latin from Greek papūros reed used in making paper
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for papyrus
n.
late 14c., from Latin papyrus "the paper plant, paper made from it," from Greek papyros "any plant of the paper plant genus," said to be of Egyptian origin. Proper plural is papyri.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper