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Papyrus

4 stages from Egyptian to English.

Today it means A paper-like writing material made from the pith of the papyrus plant, used in ancient Egypt; also the plant itself.

Where does the word "papyrus" come from? It comes from Egyptian papuro, passing through Ancient Greek and Latin before entering English (1300s).

papuro→papyros→papyrus→papyrus

Egyptian · ancient

"the paper reed plant, 'that of the pharaoh'"

papyrus production along the Nile was controlled by the royal government

Ancient Greek · ancient

"the paper-reed plant and material made from it"

Greek traders and scholars adopted the Egyptian term for the writing material

Latin · ancient

"paper made from the papyrus plant"

carried into Latin scholarly and administrative texts

English · 1300s

"a paper-like writing material made from the papyrus plant"

entered English via Latin to describe the ancient writing material

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