Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2025 is:
 
 
 
 
 palimpsest &#149; \PAL-imp-sest\&nbsp; &#149; noun
 Palimpsest in its original use refers to writing material (such as a parchment manuscript) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased; the underlying text is said to be “in palimpsest.” Palimpsest in extended use refers to something that has usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.

// Scholars believe the motive for making palimpsests was often economic—reusing parchment was cheaper than preparing a new skin.

// The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest.

<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palimpsest">See the entry ></a>
 
 
 
 Examples:
 “My aim was to trace the course of … the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aqua-Marcia">Aqua Marcia</a>, built between 144 and 140 B.C. by Julius Caesar’s ancestor Quintus Marcius Rex. … The original <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuff">tuff</a> arches carried the Marcia across a steep ravine. Subsequent retaining walls and buttresses have transformed the bridge into a palimpsest of building styles.” — David Laskin, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
 
 
 
 Did you know?
 Long ago, writing surfaces were so highly valued that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest in its original use referred to an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.”) Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn’t completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero">Cicero</a>, is one of many documents recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers apparent beneath the surface.

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