parchment

/ˈpɑːtʃmənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpɑːrtʃmənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpärch-mənt/ (ame, mw)

parchment — noun

  • parchmentsingular
  • parchmentsplural

1. a strong, thin material once produced by treating and stretching animal skin — u

1.名詞C1
釋義

a strong, thin material once produced by treating and stretching animal skin — usually from sheep or goats — so people could write on it; nowadays, also a heavy, slightly see-through type of paper designed to imitate that surface.

例句

Caio gently unrolled the medieval parchment, careful not to crack the dry edges.

physical handling of fragile material

The monks copied long prayers onto parchment using black ink and feather pens.

writing surface in historical context

同義詞
  • vellum

    made from finer calfskin; thinner and smoother than ordinary parchment

  • scroll paper

    informal way to describe the modern paper kind, especially for certificates

用法筆記

Uncountable when meaning the material itself (a sheet of parchment, not 'a parchment'). 'Parchment paper' is the common modern phrase for the cooking and craft kind.

常見錯誤

❌I bought two parchments for baking.
✅I bought two sheets of parchment for baking.
💡parchment as a material is uncountable; count with 'sheet' or 'piece'.

2. an old handwritten document — such as a contract, royal order, or land record —

2.名詞C1
釋義

an old handwritten document — such as a contract, royal order, or land record — drawn up using this animal-skin material as its surface.

例句

The museum displayed a parchment signed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1588.

historical document with named signer

Niran unfolded the family parchment that listed every owner of the rice fields.

personal land-record document

同義詞
  • scroll

    a parchment specifically rolled up rather than folded

  • charter

    a parchment that grants rights or land, usually from a king or government

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is countable (a parchment, two parchments) and refers to the document as a whole, not the writing material it is made from.