prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (words are sexy)
prettygoodword ([personal profile] prettygoodword) wrote2015-04-28 07:58 am

verdigris

verdigris (VUR-di-gris, VUR-di-grees) - n., a bluish-green patina formed on exposed copper, brass, or bronze surfaces consisting principally of basic copper sulfate; this color.


If near the sea, the copper on the surface forms a basic copper chloride instead. For the color, see the New York statue of Liberty. In Middle English, it was spelled/pronounced vertegrez, from Anglo-French vere grez < vert-de-Grece, from Old French vert-de-Grèce, green of Greece. It was used as a pigment, but why that was associated in particular with Greece, I'm not finding quickly.

---L.

[identity profile] deloric.livejournal.com 2015-04-28 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I didn't know there was a word for this besides patina. Thanks

[identity profile] prettygoodword.livejournal.com 2015-04-30 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Some patinas have specific names, but not all.

---L.