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papyrus

Origin: L, fr. Gr. See Paper.

1. (Science: botany) A tall rushlike plant (Cyperus Papyrus) of the sedge family, formerly growing in egypt, and now found in Abyssinia, Syria, Sicily, etc. The stem is triangular and about an inch thick.

2. The material upon which the ancient egyptians wrote. It was formed by cutting the stem of the plant into thin longitudinal slices, which were gummed together and pressed.

3. A manuscript written on papyrus; especially, pl, written scrolls made of papyrus; as, the papyri of egypt or Herculaneum.