parchment
Americannoun
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the skin of sheep, goats, etc., prepared for use as a material on which to write.
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a manuscript or document on such material.
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a stiff, off-white paper resembling this material.
-
a diploma.
noun
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the skin of certain animals, such as sheep, treated to form a durable material, as for bookbinding, or (esp formerly) manuscripts
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a manuscript, bookbinding, etc, made of or resembling this material
-
a type of stiff yellowish paper resembling parchment
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She looked confused and stared down at her parchment.
From Literature
"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
It was a tightly rolled piece of parchment.
From Literature
The glass tube that once held the parchment was shattered on the ground.
From Literature
Cut your sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes and spread them evenly on a large sheet pan covered in parchment paper.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
