Meaning & use
palimpsest
A manuscript or surface on which the original writing has been erased to make room for new text, though faint traces remain.
See it in a sentence
Scholars used ultraviolet light to read the erased text beneath the palimpsest.
The old city felt like a palimpsest, its modern buildings layered over ancient ruins.
A note on using this word
Palimpset is a common misspelling of palimpsest; the correct spelling keeps the 's' before the final 't.' The word is also used figuratively for anything reused but still showing traces of its past.
Words with a similar meaning
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