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 )

Example Sentences

"Usually, lime is used in the production of vellum parchment, but this is not found locally," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

"If implemented at scale, it could represent a milestone in the history of knowledge storage, akin to oracle bones, medieval parchment or the modern hard drive," they said.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

Cut your sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes and spread them evenly on a large sheet pan covered in parchment paper.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026

Now there is the sense he doesn’t really care, that the old parchment may not be equal to the demands of the moment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

And if the parchment is never found, at least some of my words will stay in Toledo.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar