'Parchment' means 'material from Pergamum' — named after the ancient city that perfected the writing surface.
A writing material made from the prepared skin of an animal, especially a sheep, goat, or calf; also, a document written on such material.
From Old French 'parchemin,' from Late Latin 'pergamēna' (also 'pergamēnum'), literally 'material from Pergamum,' referring to the ancient Greek city of Pergamon (modern Bergama, Turkey) in Asia Minor. According to tradition recorded by Pliny the Elder, parchment was developed at Pergamon in the second century BCE when the Ptolemies of Egypt embargoed papyrus exports to prevent the Pergamene library from rivaling Alexandria. The word was
The story that Pergamon invented parchment due to an Egyptian papyrus embargo is almost certainly legendary — prepared animal skins were used for writing long before the Pergamene library existed. But the story was so compelling that the material permanently acquired the city's name, making Pergamon one of few ancient cities to contribute a common English word.