n. 1. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely scraped off or erased and often legible. 2. An object or area that has extensive evidence of or layers showing activity or use: "My skin had become a palimpsest of fleeting sensations, and each layer bore the imprint of who I was" (Paul Auster). [Latin palimpsēstum, from Greek palimpsēston, neuter of palimpsēstos, scraped again : palin, again; see kwel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + psēn, to scrape.] |
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