Coating

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkəʊtɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A layer of material spread or deposited on the outer surface of an object to protect or decorate it
2. A covering layer added to surfaces for protection, appearance, or other functional properties
3. A thin spread or film applied onto an outer surface to improve durability or visual effect

Etymology: The noun "coating" is simply the gerund of the verb "coat", so its story is really the story of the garment word it grew from. That garment word travelled a long way. Its ultimate ancestor is a Proto-Germanic term for a woolen cloth or cowl, which likely sprang from an older Indo-European root meaning "woolen clothes". Cognates survive in German "Kotze", a coarse woolen blanket or cape, and in Middle Dutch, showing that the idea of a rough wool garment ran through the northern European languages. The Romans then picked up the word as "cotta", a tunic or undercoat, and it passed into Old French as "cote" and "cotte", meaning an outer garment with sleeves. English borrowed it in the Middle English period as "cote" and "coate", and the sense of a garment worn over other clothes stayed firmly attached to it. Over time the noun spread from clothing to anything that covers a surface. Painters and manufacturers began speaking of a "coat" of paint or varnish, and "coating" came to mean the layer itself, a thin film laid over something beneath. The word thus moved from wrapping a body to wrapping an object.

Synonyms: layer, covering, film, sheathing, skin

Antonyms: removal, exposure, nakedness, bareness