parchment

Etymology

From Middle English parchement, from Old French parchemin, via Latin pergamīna, from Ancient Greek Περγαμηνός (Pergamēnós, “of Pergamun”), which is named for the Ancient city of Pergamon (modern Bergama) in Asia Minor, where it was invented as an expensive alternative for papyrus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːtʃmənt/

Noun

parchment (countable and uncountable, plural parchments)

1. Material, made from the polished skin of a calf, sheep, goat or other animal, used like paper for writing.
   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, OCLC 16832619:

     At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

2. A document made on such material.
3. A diploma (traditionally written on parchment).
4. Stiff paper imitating that material.
5. The creamy to tanned color of parchment.
6. The envelope of the coffee grains, inside the pulp.