Definition
An ancient writing material made from the pith of the papyrus plant, native to the Nile Delta in Egypt. Papyrus sheets were created by layering and pressing strips of the plant and served as the primary surface for writing before paper was invented.
Example Usage
Archaeologists discovered a papyrus scroll containing an inventory of goods from an ancient Egyptian temple.
Origin
From Greek 'papuros,' derived from Egyptian 'p3-p-w-r,' literally meaning 'that of the king.'
Fun Fact
A single papyrus plant can produce multiple writing sheets, and some surviving papyri are over 3,000 years old, preserving ancient texts that would otherwise have been lost to history.
Source: Definition backfill (hailey)
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