parchment

plural parchments

1. countableuncountableMaterial, made from the polished skin of a calf, sheep, goat or other animal, used like paper for writing.

   Never found Hattie and they never found the shack Never made the trip back in There was a parchment note they found tacked to a stump Said: Don't come lookin' again.

   1973, “Swamp Witch”, in Jim Stafford (lyrics), Jim Stafford, performed by Jim Stafford

   1 more example

   At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

   1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: bookfell, membrane, vellum

2. countableuncountableA document made on such material.
3. countableuncountableA diploma (traditionally written on parchment).
4. countableuncountableStiff paper imitating that material.

   Synonyms: vegetal parchment, parchment paper, wax paper

5. countableuncountableThe creamy to tanned color of parchment.
6. countableuncountableThe envelope of the coffee grains, inside the pulp.

plural Parchments

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. countableuncountableA city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States.