papyrus

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A paper-like writing material made in ancient times from the stems of a tall water plant.

   Grammar: Uncountable for the material: a sheet of papyrus.

   Patterns

   • written on papyrus
   • a sheet of papyrus

   The scribe wrote the letter on papyrus.

   Egyptians made papyrus from reeds along the Nile.

   The museum has a papyrus that is over three thousand years old.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountablebiology

   The tall reed-like plant from which this material was made.

   Grammar: Countable for plants: papyruses or papyri.

   Patterns

   • papyrus plant

   Papyrus grows in shallow water in warm regions.

   Tall papyrus swayed along the riverbank.

   Gardeners sometimes plant papyrus in ponds.

3. 3nouncountable

   An ancient document or manuscript written on this material.

   Grammar: Plural is papyri or papyruses.

   Patterns

   • a papyrus

   Scholars translated a rare papyrus found in a tomb.

   Several papyri recorded tax payments.

   The papyrus contains a medical recipe.

Word forms

Common combinations

papyrus scroll

A papyrus scroll lay in the glass case.

ancient papyrus

Ancient papyrus is very fragile.

sheet of papyrus

He bought a sheet of papyrus as a souvenir.

papyrus reed

Boats were once built from papyrus reed.

written on papyrus

The treaty was written on papyrus.

Synonyms and how they differ

scroll

A scroll is a rolled document of any material, whereas papyrus names a specific material.

parchment

Parchment is made from animal skin, not plant stems like papyrus.

manuscript

Manuscript refers to any handwritten text, while papyrus is about what it is written on.

Word family

papyri noun

plural of papyrus

papyrology noun

the study of ancient papyri

papyrologist noun

a scholar of papyri

paper noun

a word that comes from papyrus

Commonly confused: papyrus or parchment?

Practice

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