parchment
n. C / Un. a thick, strong paper made from animal skin that people used for writing in the past. Today, you might see it in old books or use a modern version for baking.
n. a writing material made from the processed skins of animals, primarily sheep, goats, or calves. In modern culinary contexts, refers to a grease-resistant paper used in baking.
The old map was drawn on thick parchment.
The museum displayed a medieval parchment that had survived for over seven hundred years in a dry stone vault.
While papyrus was common in the ancient Mediterranean, parchment became the preferred medium for European scribes due to its durability and the ability to scrape away errors.
From Middle English parchemyn, parchement, from Old French parchemin, via Latin pergamīna, from Ancient Greek Περγαμηνός (Pergamēnós, “of Pergamon”), which is named for the ancient city of Pergamon (modern Bergama) in Asia Minor, where it was invented as an expensive alternative for papyrus. Cognate with Danish pergament, Dutch perkament, French parchemin, German Pergament, Greek περγαμηνή (pergaminí), Italian pergamena, Norwegian pergament, Portuguese pergaminho, Galician pergameo, Romanian pergament, Russian пергамент (pergament), Spanish pergamino, and Swedish pergament.
Uncountable when referring to the material in general; countable when referring to a specific historical document.