A day late but not a word short
palimpsest [pal-imp-sest]
noun
a manuscript on which two or more successive texts have been written, each one being erased to make room for the next
Etymology
1661, from L. palimpsestus = parchment cleaned for re-use; from Gk. palimpsestos = scraped again' from palin= again (see palindrome) + verbal adj. of psen "to rub smooth" (of unknown origin).
Usage:
"Language is an archeological vehicle ... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history."
-Russell Hoban
noun
a manuscript on which two or more successive texts have been written, each one being erased to make room for the next
Etymology
1661, from L. palimpsestus = parchment cleaned for re-use; from Gk. palimpsestos = scraped again' from palin= again (see palindrome) + verbal adj. of psen "to rub smooth" (of unknown origin).
Usage:
"Language is an archeological vehicle ... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history."
-Russell Hoban