papyri

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Papyrus \Pa*py"rus\, n.; pl. Papyri. [L., fr. Gr. pa`pyros. See Paper.]

1.(Bot.) A tall rushlike plant (Cyperus Papyrus) of the Sedge family, formerly growing in Egypt, and now found in Abyssinia, Syria, Sicily, etc. The stem is triangular and about an inch thick. [1913 Webster]

2.The material upon which the ancient Egyptians wrote. It was formed by cutting the stem of the plant into thin longitudinal slices, which were gummed together and pressed. [1913 Webster]

3.A manuscript written on papyrus; esp., pl., written scrolls made of papyrus; as, the papyri of Egypt or Herculaneum. [1913 Webster]