Meanings
plural patinas · plural patinae
- countableuncountableThe colour or incrustation which age and wear give to (chiefly metallic) objects; especially, the green rust which covers works of art such as ancient bronzes, coins and medals.
- countablefigurativelyuncountableA gloss or superficial layer.
He enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal.
1 more example
It demonstrates how scientific authority could be constructed on the fly, as it were, by someone with no connections and no psychological credentials who offered a technique that had the patina of modern science[…]
2012, Alison Winter, Memory: Fragments of a Modern History
- not comparableOf a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
Origin
- Pre-Greek
- Proto-Indo-European*peth₂-“to spread”
- Ancient Greekπατάνη
- Latinpatina“dish, pan”
- Italianpatina
- Englishpatina
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, patine, and (possibly) pan.
More words from Italian, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan pàtina
- pàtinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Czech patina
- patinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Dutch patina, pateen
- patinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- pateenreceptacle
Finnish patina
- patinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
French patine, patène
- patinecolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- patènereceptacle
German Patina
- Patinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Italian patina
- patinareceptacle
Japanese 緑青
- 緑青 (rokushō)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Persian پتینه
- پتینه (patine)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Polish patyna, śniedź
- patynacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- śniedźcolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- patenareceptacle
Portuguese pátina
- pátinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Romanian patină, patină
- patinăcolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- patinăreceptacle
Russian па́тина, пати́на
- па́тина (pátina)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- пати́на (patína)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Spanish pátina
- pátinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Swedish patina
- patinacolour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Ukrainian па́тина, пати́на
- па́тина (pátyna)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
- пати́на (patýna)colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with patina
Anagrams
Cite this entry
patina. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patina
“patina.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patina. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patina,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patina.
Source: patina on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.