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CEFR C2 — Proficiency

Palimpsest

Definition

(literary/academic) A manuscript or document where the original text has been scraped or rubbed off and replaced with new writing, often in a different language or script. Also used metaphorically to describe a situation where something new is overlaid on something old, obscuring but not entirely erasing the original. Typically collocates with 'manuscript', 'text', 'layer', 'surface'.

Example Sentences

1The discovery of the palimpsest manuscript provided invaluable insights into the evolution of medieval scriptoria.
2Is the modern city a palimpsest of its historical past, with contemporary architecture layered over ancient ruins?
3Scholars have long been fascinated by the palimpsest nature of the Codex Sinaiticus, where the original biblical text is overlaid with later annotations.
4In her novel, the author uses the palimpsest as a metaphor for the way memories can be overwritten but never fully erased.
5There is a palimpsest quality to the city's cultural landscape, where the remnants of colonialism are still visible beneath the surface of modernity.

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