Definition of "palimpsest" [pal•imp•sest]

• A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible. (noun)
• An object, place, or area that reflects its history: "Spaniards in the sixteenth century . . . saw an ocean moving south . . . through a palimpsest of bayous and distributary streams in forested paludal basins” ( John McPhee). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So an architectural palimpsest is the ghostly remains of other buildings or parts of buildings that are still apparent on existing buildings."
• "The description of this granite palimpsest is best given in Mr. Petrie's own words, as written in his weekly report at the time of the discovery:"
• "So rich a palimpsest is French civilization, so varied is"