Verdigris
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals. countable, uncountable
"Let's to^([sic]) the museum. Cannon-balls; arrow-heads; Roman glass and a forceps green with verdigris."
- 2 a green patina that forms on copper or brass or bronze that has been exposed to the air or water for long periods of time wordnet
- 3 Copper acetate. countable, dated, uncountable
- 4 a blue or green powder used as a paint pigment wordnet
- 5 The color of this patina or material. countable, uncountable
"Gamboge is one of the firſt yellows, which may be made to produce five or six ſorts of Green with verdegreaſe, according as the gambooge is in the greater or leſſer proportion; if it abounds, it will make a tolerable oak green, and being mixt with a greater quantity of verdegreaſe, it will make a fine graſs Green."
- 1 To cover, or coat, with verdigris. transitive
"[…] there were always some wretched musicians, with an old fiddle, an old clarinet, and an old verdigrised brass bugle[…]"
- 2 color verdigris wordnet
Example
More examples"Let's to^([sic]) the museum. Cannon-balls; arrow-heads; Roman glass and a forceps green with verdigris."
Etymology
From Middle English vertegrez, from Old French verte grez (literally “acidic green”), an alteration of older verte de Grece (literally “green of Greece”). The modern French writing of this word is vert-de-gris (literally “green of gray”).
Related phrases
More for "verdigris"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.