A few weeks ago, Kai Ryssdal, the co- host of one of my favorite podcasts, Make Me Smart, shared a word new to me. His word nerdy co-host, Kimberly Adams, hadn’t heard it either. Kai mentioned palimpsest and described it as a thin veneer. Curious, I had to learn more. Not only is palimpsest fun to say, its meaning refers to an ancient form of recycling! What’s cooler than that?
According to Merriam-Webster, a palimpsest is a noun referring a piece of parchment or other writing surface that has been used more than once after earlier writing was erased. An old document might have been erased to make space for a new one if parchment or a tablet was hard to find. Palimpsest comes from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.” For example, De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, was recovered from a palimpsest in which all layers were not fully removed.
These days, a palimpsest also refers to something layered and complicated. For example, the ruins of an ancient city. Lately, listening to the reporting of the war between Israel and Hamas, I imagine a thick palimpsest of political and religious conflict contributing to the complicated history in this area of the world.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
