papyrus
n 1: paper made from the papyrus plant by cutting it in strips
and pressing it flat; used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks
and Romans
2: tall sedge of the Nile valley yielding fiber that served many
purposes in historic times [syn: papyrus, Egyptian paper
reed, Egyptian paper rush, paper rush, paper plant,
Cyperus papyrus]
3: a document written on papyrus
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Papyrus \Pa*py"rus\, n.; pl. Papyri. [L., fr. Gr. pa`pyros.
See Paper.]
1. (Bot.) A tall rushlike plant (Cyperus Papyrus) of the
Sedge family, formerly growing in Egypt, and now found in
Abyssinia, Syria, Sicily, etc. The stem is triangular and
about an inch thick.
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2. The material upon which the ancient Egyptians wrote. It
was formed by cutting the stem of the plant into thin
longitudinal slices, which were gummed together and
pressed.
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3. A manuscript written on papyrus; esp., pl., written
scrolls made of papyrus; as, the papyri of Egypt or
Herculaneum.
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