2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Papyrus  \Pa*py"rus\,  n.;  pl  {Papyri}.  [L.,  fr  Gr  ?.  See 
  {Paper}.] 
  1.  (Bot.)  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;  esp.,  pl.,  written 
  scrolls  made  of  papyrus;  as  the  papyri  of  Egypt  or 
  Herculaneum. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  papyrus 
  n  1:  paper  made  from  the  papyrus  plant  by  cutting  it  in  strips 
  and  pressing  it  flat;  used  by  ancient  Egyptians  and 
  Greeks  and  Romans 
  2:  tall  sedge  of  the  Nile  valley  yielding  fiber  that  served 
  many  purposes  in  historic  times  [syn:  {Egyptian  paper  reed}, 
  {paper  rush},  {Cyperus  papyrus}] 
  3:  a  document  written  on  papyrus 

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