What does papyrus mean?
Papyrus refers primarily to the writing material used in ancient Egypt and other parts of the Mediterranean before parchment and paper became widespread. It was produced by cutting and layering the pale inner pith of the papyrus plant, then pressing and drying the sheets. The word also denotes an individual manuscript, scroll, or surviving ancient text written on this material. A third sense names the aquatic sedge from which the sheets were made. In everyday historical writing, papyrus often carries a strong association with Egyptian and Greco-Roman scholarship, law, religion, and literature: religious texts, administrative records, contracts, and literary fragments survive on papyrus. Its English history also explains the word paper, which developed from the Greek name for the plant and its writing material. Today, papyrus is valued both as the name of an ancient medium and as the principal designation for documents recovered from the dry conditions of Egypt and other arid regions.
nounPapyrus is an ancient writing material made from the pith of the papyrus plant, and also a document or text written on this material. The term can also refer to the aquatic plant from which the material was made.
- The thin writing material made from the pith of the papyrus plant and used in ancient times.
- A manuscript or document written on papyrus.
- An ancient text or literary work surviving on papyrus manuscripts.
- The tall aquatic sedge, Cyperus papyrus, from which ancient writing material was made.
"The scholar carefully unrolled the papyrus and examined its faded hieratic script."
"Fragments of the agreement were recovered from an Egyptian papyrus."
"The marshes were filled with papyrus, tall sedges that the ancient Egyptians harvested for paper."
Papyrus has the standard plural papyri, especially for ancient documents or texts; papyruses is also accepted.
"Several papyri containing legal contracts were discovered at the archaeological site."
The word papyrus gave English its word paper: ancient scribes wrote on strips of this plant, and its name travelled from Egyptian through Greek and Latin into modern languages.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does papyrus come from?
Papyrus entered English through Latin papyrus, which borrowed the Greek papyros, originally the Egyptian name for the plant and the material made from it. Greek speakers then applied papyros to papyrus sheets and texts written on them. Latin also developed the form papyrus, while the common word paper ultimately derives through Old French from Latin papyrus. Related English words include papyrology, the study of papyri, and papyraceous, meaning resembling or made of papyrus.
Related word forms
How papyrus is actually used
In its first and most common historical sense, papyrus denotes either the material itself or a document written on it. The botanical sense refers to a specific sedge rather than to paper made from it. In literary and historical discussion, the plural papyri is preferred, although papyruses is also accepted.
Easily confused with papyrus
Papyrus was made from the fibrous pith of an aquatic plant, whereas parchment was prepared from animal skin.