Parchment

Parchment
This rare and unusual name embodies a long and most interesting history. As a surname, it is a metonymic applied, quite literally, to a parchment maker or seller. The word "parchment" was derived, via the Middle English and Old French "parchemin", from a blending of the Latin words "Pergamina", (having reference to a method of preparing skins developed at Pergamum) and "Parthica Pellis", or "parthian skin". In the Middle Ages there was no extensive knowledge of paper manufacture, so all administrative work and the arts of reading and writing depended on the production of writing material from skins. The surname Parchment in one of its early forms was clearly in use by the latter part of the 12th Century (see below). One Walter Perchmunt is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire (1200). A parchment of unknown first name married Ales (Alice) Father on January 24th 1579 at St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gille Parchiminer, "the parchment maker", which was dated 1180, Shropshire Pipe Rolls, during the reign of King Henry 11, "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Parchment — Parch ment (p[aum]rch ment), n. [OE. parchemin, perchemin, F. parchemin, LL. pergamenum, L. pergamena, pergamina, fr. L. Pergamenus of or belonging to Pergamus an ancient city of Mysia in Asia Minor, where parchment was first used.] 1. The skin… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • parchment — [pärch′mənt] n. [ME parchemin < OFr < LL pergamina < L (charta) Pergamena, (paper) of PERGAMUM, where used as a substitute for papyrus: altered in OFr by assoc. with parche, parchment < LL parthica ( pellis), lit., Parthian (leather)] …   English World dictionary

  • Parchment — Parchment, MI U.S. city in Michigan Population (2000): 1936 Housing Units (2000): 873 Land area (2000): 0.855291 sq. miles (2.215193 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.033619 sq. miles (0.087074 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.888910 sq. miles (2.302267… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Parchment, MI — U.S. city in Michigan Population (2000): 1936 Housing Units (2000): 873 Land area (2000): 0.855291 sq. miles (2.215193 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.033619 sq. miles (0.087074 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.888910 sq. miles (2.302267 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • parchment — ► NOUN 1) a stiff material made from the skin of a sheep or goat, formerly used for writing on. 2) (also parchment paper) stiff translucent paper treated to resemble parchment. 3) informal a diploma or other formal document. ORIGIN Old French… …   English terms dictionary

  • parchment — (n.) c.1300, from O.Fr. perchemin (O.N.Fr. parcamin), from L.L. pergamenum parchment, from Late Gk. pergamenon of Pergamon, from Pergamon Pergamum (modern Bergama), city in Mysia in Asia Minor where it was supposedly first adopted as a substitute …   Etymology dictionary

  • Parchment — For other uses, see Parchment (disambiguation). Central European (Northern) type of finished parchment made of goatskin stretched on a wooden frame Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most… …   Wikipedia

  • parchment — parchmentlike, parchmenty, adj. /pahrch meuhnt/, n. 1. the skin of sheep, goats, etc., prepared for use as a material on which to write. 2. a manuscript or document on such material. 3. a stiff, off white paper resembling this material. 4. a… …   Universalium

  • parchment — [[t]pɑ͟ː(r)tʃmənt[/t]] parchments 1) N UNCOUNT In former times, parchment was the skin of a sheep or goat that was used for writing on. ...old manuscripts written on parchment. 2) N UNCOUNT Parchment is a kind of thick yellowish paper. ...an old… …   English dictionary

  • parchment — UK [ˈpɑː(r)tʃmənt] / US [ˈpɑrtʃmənt] noun Word forms parchment : singular parchment plural parchments 1) a) [uncountable] a substance made from animal skin, used in the past for writing on b) [countable] an old document written on parchment 2)… …   English dictionary

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