Patine

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /pəˈtiːn/

Definitions

1. A film that provides both protection and beauty while evolving in appearance through aging is often created on various surfaces
2. A fine layer on objects that forms naturally or is applied to give an aged, protective finish
3. A delicate covering that develops or is added to enhance the look and shield the surface by creating a sense of age

Etymology: Patine has a surprising kinship with paten, the small plate used to hold the bread at Communion. The two are the same word in different dress: English took "paten" as a plate term, and the spelling "patine" is a variant of it, which means the thin green-brown film on old bronze and the church dish share a single ancestry. The link runs through French, which provided the form "patine" that English adopted. The sense of a surface coating is where the two diverge in meaning. The plate is a flat, polished object, and the patina is what accumulates on such metal over years of exposure, giving bronze its characteristic verdigris or an aged glow on furniture and wood. Today it is also used as a verb, meaning to give an object that same aged finish deliberately.