palimpsest
noun /ˈpælɪmpsest/
/ˈpælɪmpsest/
- an ancient document from which some or all of the original text has been removed and replaced by a new text
- (formal) something that has many different layers of meaning or detail
- a study of the novel as a palimpsest with one textual layer over another
Word Originmid 17th cent.: via Latin from Greek palimpsēstos, from palin ‘again’ + psēstos ‘rubbed smooth’.