# palimpsest
## English
### Etymology

From Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /ˈpælɪmpsɛst/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

palimpsest (plural palimpsests)
* A manuscript or document that has been erased or scraped clean, for reuse of the paper, parchment, vellum, or other medium on which it was written.
* (archaic) Monumental brasses that have been reused by engraving of the blank back side.
* (astronomy) Circular features believed to be lunar craters that have been obliterated by later volcanic activity.
* (geology) Geological features thought to be related to features or effects below the surface.
* (computing) Memory that has been erased and re-written.
* (cultural studies) The partial erasure of or superimposition on an older society or culture by a newer one.
* Something bearing the traces of an earlier, erased form.
** 2022, Ian McEwan, Lessons, page 329:But on her he did not see even the palimpsest of a smile.
* A text with several layers of meaning, especially pertaining to different points in time.
** 2005, Patrick Radden Keefe, Chatter:Miraculously, the Stasi's record of Garton Ash's years in Berlin remained intact, and in his extraordinary book The File he recalls going back to Berlin, sifting through the material, and piecing together those years for himself. The result is a palimpsest of memories, observations recorded by informants and agents, and the recollections in his own diaries at that time.
** 2015 April 28, Martha C. Carpentier, Joycean Legacies, Springer, →ISBN:... with the multilingual portmanteau words and phrases giving the text the quality of a palimpsest upon which multiple layers of textual meaning can be simultaneously detected.

#### Quotations

* For quotations using this term, see Citations:palimpsest.

#### Synonyms

* codex rescriptus

#### Derived terms

* palimpsestic
* palimpsestuous

#### Translations
### Verb

palimpsest (third-person singular simple present palimpsests, present participle palimpsesting, simple past and past participle palimpsested)
* To scrape clean, as in parchment, for reuse.
* On paper: to reuse, often by erasure or change of pen direction or color. Especially fueled by Earth Day.
    Typically refers to a multi-layered work, e.g.: new ads covering old on a roadside sign.

### See also

* pentimento

### Anagrams

* past simple, simple past

## Czech
### Etymology

Derived from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos).

### Noun

palimpsest m inan
* palimpsest

#### Declension
## Danish
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos).

### Noun

palimpsest c (singular definite palimpsesten, plural indefinite palimpsester)
* palimpsest

#### Declension
### References

* “palimpsest” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Polish
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /paˈlimpsɛst/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -impsɛst
* Syllabification: pa‧lim‧psest

### Noun

palimpsest m inan
* palimpsest

#### Declension
### Further reading

* palimpsest in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* palimpsest in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French palimpseste, from Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [pa.limpˈsest]

### Noun

palimpsest n (plural palimpseste)
* palimpsest

#### Declension
## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /palǐmpsest/
* Hyphenation: pa‧lim‧psest

### Noun

palìmpsest m (Cyrillic spelling палѝмпсест)
* palimpsest

#### Declension
## Slovene
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /palimpséːst/

### Noun

palimpsẹ̑st m inan
* palimpsest

#### Inflection
## Welsh
### Etymology

From English palimpsest, Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpalɪmpˌsɛsd/, [ˈpʰalɪmpʰˌsɛst]

### Noun

palimpsest m (plural palimpsestau)
* palimpsest

### References

* R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “palimpsest”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies