palimpsest

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Something bearing the traces of an earlier, erased form.

   But on her he did not see even the palimpsest of a smile.

2. 2
   verb

   On paper: to reuse, often by erasure or change of pen direction or color. Especially fueled by Earth Day.

   Typically refers to a multi-layered work, e.g.: new ads covering old on a roadside sign.

From Latin palimpsēstus, from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsēstos, “scraped again”).

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