patina

Meanings

Noun

• A paten, flat type of dish.
• The colour or incrustation which age and wear give to (mainly metallic) objects; especially, the green rust which covers works of art such as ancient bronzes, coins and medals.
• A green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
• A gloss or superficial layer.

Adjective

• Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.

Origin

• Borrowed from Italian patina, from Latin patina ("dish, pan"), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek πατάνη, either from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ("to spread") or from Pre-Greek. paten, patena, and patine.