/ pəˈpaɪrəs; NAmE / noun ( pl. pa·pyri / pəˈpaɪriː; NAmE /)
1.
[ U ] a tall plant with thick stems that grows in water
2.
[ U ] paper made from the stems of the papyrus plant, used in ancient Egypt for writing and drawing on
3.
[ C ] a document or piece of paper made of papyrus
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in sense 1): via Latin from Greek papuros . Senses 2 and 3 date from the early 18th cent.