What does rasure mean?
Rasure is a rare noun meaning the act of erasing or obliterating something, especially writing, as well as a mark or space left where writing has been removed. It has a scholarly and literary tone and is often associated with manuscripts, inscriptions, and historical documents, where an erased passage may provide evidence about the text’s later history. The word can describe the deliberate removal of written material, such as a name or title, and can also refer to the physical trace of that removal. In everyday speech, erasure is the more familiar term, while rasure conveys a slightly more formal or antiquarian atmosphere. Its unusual appearance may suggest something obscure, but the concept is straightforward: writing has been rubbed out, scraped away, or otherwise made to disappear.
nounThe act or process of erasing or obliterating something, especially writing. It can also refer to a place or mark where writing has been erased.
- The act or process of erasing or obliterating writing.
- A place or mark where writing has been erased.
"The editor examined the rasure to determine whether the name had been removed before or after the manuscript was written."
"The scholar studied the rasure in the medieval manuscript for clues about its original text."
"A faint rasure remained where the title had once been."
The plural is possible but uncommon, since rasure itself is a rare noun.
"Several rasures in the manuscript may have been made by later editors."
Rasure is a word for making writing disappear, while preserving the memory of the physical scrape that removed it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
How rasure is actually used
Rasure is uncommon in modern everyday English and is chiefly literary, historical, or scholarly. In general use, erasure is more usual.
Easily confused with rasure
Erasure is the common noun for the act or result of erasing, while rasure is a rarer, more literary term, often used in reference to manuscripts or historical documents.