copy vs palimpsest

copy

noun
  • A printed edition of a book or magazine. 

  • The text of newspaper articles. 

  • Writing paper of a particular size, called also bastard. 

  • The output of copywriters, who are employed to write material which encourages consumers to buy goods or services. 

  • The result of copying; an identical duplicate of an original. 

  • A school work pad. 

  • The result of gene or chromosomal duplication. 

  • An imitation, sometimes of inferior quality. 

  • The text that is to be typeset. 

  • A gender-neutral abbreviation for copy boy. 

verb
  • To produce an object identical to a given object. 

  • To give or transmit a copy to (a person). 

  • To place a copy of an object in memory for later use. 

  • To imitate. 

  • To receive a transmission successfully. 

palimpsest

noun
  • A manuscript or document that has been erased or scraped clean, for reuse of the paper, parchment, vellum, or other medium on which it was written. 

  • The partial erasure of or superimposition on an older society or culture by a newer one. 

  • Something bearing the traces of an earlier, erased form. 

  • Geological features thought to be related to features or effects below the surface. 

  • Memory that has been erased and re-written. 

  • Circular features believed to be lunar craters that have been obliterated by later volcanic activity. 

verb
  • To scrape clean, as in parchment, for reuse. 

  • On paper: to reuse, often by erasure or change of pen direction or color. Especially fueled by Earth Day. 

How often have the words copy and palimpsest occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )