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.

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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

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

Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, making sure they are evenly spaced.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026

The parchment, produced in America in the 1780s, seems to trace back to the Richmond family archives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Then do a quick sweep of your surfaces: crumbs, scraps, stray La Croix cans, to-go coffee cups, bits of plastic wrap or parchment.

From Salon • May 5, 2026

The artifacts — yellowing parchment with slight marks of stress at the edges and an intricately detailed stone tablet — are almost luminous under dim overhead lights at the exhibit.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Danny gripped the wooden box with the parchment and held it tight.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova