Patina
//pəˈtiː.nə// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A paten, flat type of dish. countable, uncountable
- 2 a fine coating of oxide (produced by oxidation over a long period of time) on the surface of a metal (particularly copper) wordnet
- 3 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. countable, uncountable
- 4 a gloss or sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, polishing, or handling wordnet
- 5 A green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 an acquired change in the appearance of something (other than metal or wood) wordnet
- 7 A gloss or superficial layer. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"he enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal"
Adjective
- 1 Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina. not-comparable
Example
More examples"This bronze statue is coated with patina."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian patina, from Latin patina (“dish, pan”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē), either from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread”) or from Pre-Greek. Doublet of paten, patena, and patine.
More for "patina"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.