Pell
/pɛl/noun
A skin or hide, especially one used as a parchment or writing surface in historical contexts.
Did you know?In medieval usage, a pell could mean a prepared animal skin used for writing, tying the word to the ancient world of parchment and record-keeping.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pel-
“to skin, peel, or strip”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*felą
“skin, hide”
Old English
OE
fell
“a skin, hide, or pelt”
Middle English
ME
pell
“a skin or hide; a parchment skin”
Modern English
English
pell
“a hide or skin, especially as a writing material in historical use”