patina

/ˈpætɪnə/

//ˈpætɪnə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"patina" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“patina” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,812. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,812
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A paten, flat type of dish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-patina · patina · English

patina · rank #42,812 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,812
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pasco

Nearest frequency peer: Pasco (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “patina”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “patina” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

patina vs Putin
50% similar
patina vs patio
67% similar
patina vs Patna
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for patina
PropertyValue
Headwordpatina
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpætɪnə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#42,812
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “patina”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).patinalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Pasco” (#42,811), “Pauly” (#42,813), “Paras” (#42,810). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “patina” is #42,812. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around patina (IPA /ˈpætɪnə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,812 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for patina, with forms such as "aptina", "paitna", and "patian". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Putin", "patio", "Patna", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is patina, spelled P-A-T-I-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A paten, flat type of dish.
  2. 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. 3
    A green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
  4. 4
    A gloss or superficial layer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how patina appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. he enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal
  2. 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[…]

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.

This word in other languages

pátina(Español)patène(Français)Patina(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aptina
  • paitna
  • patian
  • patinna
  • patnia
  • pattina
  • ppatina
  • ptaina

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of patina - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aptina2paitna2patian2patinna1patnia2pattina1ppatina1ptaina2
Edit distance from "patina"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "patina"?
"patina" is spelled P-A-T-I-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpætɪnə/.
What does "patina" mean?
As a noun, "patina" means: A paten, flat type of dish.
What words are commonly confused with "patina"?
"patina" is commonly confused with "Putin", "patio", "Patna". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "patina"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patina" is /ˈpætɪnə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "patina"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "patina", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

panini#42,809moneys#42,780mobbed#42,778Randal#42,847

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Renata8 variantsricotta8 variantsLiszt8 variantsSemite8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list