palimpsest |ˈpalimpˌsest| noun a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain. • figurative something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form : Sutton Place is a palimpsest of the taste of successive owners.
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ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: via Latin from Greek palimpsēstos, from palin ‘again’ + psēstos ‘rubbed smooth.’
WikiPedia:Archimedes_Palimpsest
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