Weatherbeaten

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing signs of wear, discoloration or damage from long exposure to sun, rain, wind and other natural elements
2. Having been eroded or faded over time by the action of rough outdoor conditions such as rain and wind
3. Marked by the effects of years spent outdoors, with surfaces roughened, faded or battered by the elements

Etymology: "Weatherbeaten" is simply a compound of "weather" and "beaten," the past participle of "beat." The image behind it is literal: something left out in the elements gets battered by wind, rain, sun and frost until its surface shows the damage. The phrase is used of faces, boats, stone and wood, and the sense of repeated blows is what gives the word its force. The spelling with a hyphen, "weather-beaten," is the more common form, and the unhyphenated version is an accepted alternative. Both forms follow the same pattern as other compounds built on "beaten," such as "battle-scarred" or "sun-bleached," where one word describes the agent and the other describes the result.

Synonyms: weathered, worn, battered, faded, rugged

Antonyms: pristine, new, unblemished, immaculate, spotless