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patina

noun

  1. acquired change of an object's surface through age and exposure
  2. a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use
  3. an appearance or aura that is derived from association, habit, or established characte
  4. a superficial covering or exterior
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈpætɪnə/ / /pəˈtiː.nə/ / /ˈpæ.tɪ.nə/

adj

Etymology: 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, and patine.

  1. Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.

noun

Etymology: 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, and patine.

  1. A paten, flat type of dish.
  2. The colour 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. A gloss or superficial layer.

    he enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal

    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[…]