papyrus
/pə'paiərai/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A tall aquatic sedge plant: A tall, grass-like plant (Cyperus papyrus) that grows in water, historically abundant in the Nile Valley.
- A material for writing: A thick, paper-like material made from the pith (inner stem) of the papyrus plant, cut into strips, layered, and pressed, used in ancient times.
- A document or manuscript: A specific text or scroll written on this material.
Examples
Noun (Plant):
- The ancient Egyptians used the papyrus reed to make boats, mats, and writing material.
- Papyrus grows in the shallow waters of marshes.
Noun (Material):
- Important Egyptian texts were recorded on papyrus.
- The process of making papyrus was a skilled craft.
Noun (Document):
- This papyrus contains a medical treatise from the 2nd century.
- Scholars are studying a newly discovered papyrus.
Advanced Usage
- As an uncountable noun (material): Often used without an article when referring to the substance itself.
- The ancient world relied on papyrus for record-keeping.
- As a countable noun (document/plant): Used with articles or in plural form.
- Several important papyri were found at the archaeological site. (Note: "papyri" is a common plural form.)
Variants and Related Words
- Papyri (n): The conventional plural form of "papyrus," especially when referring to documents or manuscripts.
- The library's collection includes hundreds of Greek papyri.
- Papyrology (n): The scholarly study of ancient texts written on papyrus.
- Papyrology helps us understand daily life in antiquity.
- Papyraceous (adj): Having the texture or quality of paper, papery.
- The fossil had a thin, papyraceous layer.
Synonyms
- Scroll: A roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper for writing. (Specifically for the document form)
- Manuscript: A handwritten document. (A broader term that can include papyrus documents)
- Reed: A tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family. (A general term; papyrus is a specific type of reed)
Related Phrases/Idioms
Note: "Papyrus" is a specific historical and botanical term. It does not commonly form modern phrasal verbs or idioms. Its usage is primarily literal and academic. - On papyrus: A phrase used to specify the medium of a text. - The contract was written on papyrus.
Noun
- a document written on papyrus
- tall sedge of the Nile valley yielding fiber that served many purposes in historic times
- paper made from the papyrus plant by cutting it in strips and pressing it flat; used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks and Romans