parchment
UK: ˈpɑːtʃmənt | US: ˈpɑːrtʃmənt
n. A stiff, flat, thin material made from the prepared skin of an animal, historically used for writing or printing.
n. A document or text written on such material.
The word "parchment" traces back to the Latin pergamina (from Pergamum, an ancient Greek city where parchment was refined). The Old French parchemin evolved into Middle English perchemin/parchment. The morpheme "parch" reflects the drying process of animal skins to create the material, while "-ment" denotes the resulting product. The spelling shift from pergamina to parchment highlights the influence of French and English phonetic adaptation.
Medieval monks often wrote religious texts on parchment.
The ancient contract was preserved on a piece of parchment.
Parchment paper is still used in baking today.
The library displayed a 12th-century parchment manuscript.
She unrolled the parchment to reveal a faded map.