papyrus
noun /pəˈpaɪrəs/
/pəˈpaɪrəs/
(plural papyri
/pəˈpaɪriː/
/pəˈpaɪriː/
)- [uncountable] a tall plant with thick stems that grows in water, especially in AfricaTopics Plants and treesc2
- [uncountable] paper made from the stems of the papyrus plant, used in ancient Egypt for writing and drawing onTopics Historyc2
- [countable] a document or piece of paper made of papyrus
Word Originlate Middle English (in sense (1)): via Latin from Greek papuros. Senses 2 and 3 date from the early 18th cent.