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What is "patina"

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patina
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
patina
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Aside from a crumpled roll of dollar bills covered with a pale patina of the sacred dirt, his pockets were empty.
▪ It also takes on a patina of contrivance, verbal and visual anachronisms, Mara Blumenfeld's quirky costumes aside.
▪ Large homes cry to be filled with possessions, which gives their owners the patina of necessity for their purchases.
▪ Robbie had time to admire the rich patina of lovingly cared-for wood.
▪ The patina the bronzes had acquired during burial was much admired, and people assumed that they had originally been patinated.
▪ The film of steam combined with the patina of dirt on the glass made them almost opaque.
▪ The mahogany work tables, mottled by youthful mis-experiment, shone with a rich dark patina.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
patina

patina \pat"ina\ (p[a^]t"[i^]*n[.a]; It. p[aum]"t[-e]*n[.a]), n. [It., fr. L. patina a dish, a pan, a kind of cake. Cf. Paten.]

  1. A dish or plate of metal or earthenware; a patella.

  2. (Fine Arts) The color or incrustation which age gives to works of art; especially, the green rust which covers ancient bronzes, coins, and medals.
    --Fairholt.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
patina

"greenish film on old bronze," 1748, from French patine (18c.), from Italian patina, perhaps from Latin patina "dish, pan" (see pan (n.)), on the notion of encrustation on ancient bronze dishes. Sense of "refinement, cultural sophistication" first recorded 1933.

Wiktionary
patina

a. Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina. n. 1 (context originally English) A paten, flat type of dish 2 The color 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. 3 A green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina. 4 (context figurative English) A gloss or superficial layer.

WordNet
patina

  1. n. a fine coating of oxide on the surface of a metal

  2. [also: patinae (pl)]

Wikipedia
Patina

Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of stone; on copper, bronze and similar metals ( tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes); on wooden furniture (sheen produced by age, wear, and polishing); or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure. Patinas can provide a protective covering to materials that would otherwise be damaged by corrosion or weathering. They may also be aesthetically appealing.

On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides, carbonates, sulfides, or sulfates formed on the surface during exposure to atmospheric elements ( oxygen, rain, acid rain, carbon dioxide, sulfur-bearing compounds), a common example of which is rust which forms on iron or steel when exposed to oxygen. Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and colour that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture over time.

Archaeologists also use the term "patina" to refer to a corticated layer that develops over time that is due to a range of complex factors on flint tools and ancient stone monuments. This has led stone tool analysts in recent times to generally prefer the term "cortification" as a better term to describe the process than "patination".

In geology and geomorphology, the term "patina" is used to refer to discolored film or thin outer layer produced either on or within the surface of a rock or other material by either the development of a weathering rind within the surface of a rock, the formation of desert varnish on the surface of a rock, or combination of both. It also refers to development as the result of weathering of a case-hardened layer, called "cortex" by geologists, within the surface of either a flint or chert nodule.

Usage examples of "patina".

When the class was over, Paul decided to remain seated until Patina had exited the room, because his proximity to the doorway would then allow him to observe her at a distance of only two or three-feet.

Paul now felt certain Patina was a gregarious and self-confident extrovert, and he felt inferior to her on that basis.

Over the weekend, Paul resolved to approach Patina at his next opportunity.

Upon entering the classroom, Paul noticed there were very few people as yet in attendance but he saw Patina already seated at the back of the room by herself.

Moreover, by scoring these points right in front of Patina, he was presumably making a good impression on her--a very much better impression, in fact, than he would otherwise, normally be capable of.

When the class had finished, Paul asked Patina if she was going to lunch, to which she answered in the affirmative, and the pair set off for the cafeteria together.

The morning of the following day saw Patina arrive early for class once more--which was her habit in any case.

But Patina was different: she was at the highest and unprecedented extreme end of importance, and so this matter would require a great deal more thought and consideration than usual.

That Paul and Patina were enrolled in five subjects together was made all the more unusual in that the combination of subjects constituted an unusual choice.

It was on the following day while they were sitting talking together in class and waiting for the lesson to begin that Patina took a newspaper clipping out of her shoulder bag and handed it to Paul.

But subtle as they may have been there were nevertheless sufficient clues to foster in Paul a vague yet intense subjective sense of certainty that Patina came from a rich or well-to-do family.

He was more interested in absorbing the aesthetic impressions of the evening, admiring Patina and how gorgeous she looked in her outfit, experiencing the bright lights, taking in the festivities and gazing curiously upon the many students who had dressed up for the occasion.

Paul, in an effort to expunge the implied insult that Patina would not have been capable of painting it.

He was positively energized by the excitement his conversation with Patina had engendered.

These phony hippies and communists might easily con Patina into having sex with them and then give her syphilis or gonorrhea!