Palimpsest
From Fresh Dictionary
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English
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Etymology
From Greek ÏαλίμÏηÏÏοÏ, "scraped again."
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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. Many historical texts have been recovered using ultraviolet light and other technologies to read the erased writing.
- 2006: Cory Doctorow, "Correcting the Record: Wikipedia vs The Register" in http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/11/correcting_the_recor.html — Wikipediaâs History and Discuss pages are palimpsests recording the process by which the truth was eventually negotiated.
- (astronomy) circular features believed to be lunar craters that have been obliterated by later volcanic activity.
- geological features thought to be related to features or effects below the surface.
- (computing) memory that has been erased and re-written.
- For examples of the use of this word see: citations.
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Verb
to palimpsest
- 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.λ new ads covering old on a roadside sign.
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