patina

English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Română

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

patina

/ˈpætɪnə/ UK
/pəˈtinə/ US
/ˈpætɪnə/ US

Rhymes with -ætɪnə, -iːnə

Where it comes from

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.

noun patinas · patinae

countable, uncountable A paten (a flat type of dish).
countable, uncountable The 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.
countable, uncountable A green colour tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
countable, figuratively, uncountable A gloss or superficial layer. He enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal.

adjective

not comparable Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.

Translations

Every language

noun receptacle

Français	patène
Italiano	patina
Română	patină

noun colour or incrustation which age and wear give to objects

Español	pátina
日本語	緑青 rokushō
Português	pátina
Français	patine
Deutsch	Patina
Română	patină
Русский	па́тина pátina, пати́на patína

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"patina." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/patina. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

patina. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/patina

Chicago

"patina." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/patina.

BibTeX

@misc{patina_2026,
  title = {patina},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/patina},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}