verdigris
/ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/noun, verb
verdigris is a noun meaning “A blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled V-E-R-D-I-G-R-I-S and has 3 syllables, and it appears about once in every 11 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of verdigris is verdigrises.
What does verdigris mean?
noun
- 1
A blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals.
- 2
datedCopper acetate.
- 3
The color of this patina or material.
verb
- 1
To cover, or coat, with verdigris.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce verdigris?
- US /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/
- US /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹi/
- US /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹɪs/
Verdigris has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-verdigris.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of verdigris
- verdigrises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- verdigrising participle, present
- verdigrised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is verdigris?
Verdigris appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 98,107th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Verdigris in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense blue-green patina on copper and copper alloys:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vert-de-gris |
| German | Grünspan |
| Portuguese | azinhavre, verdete |
| Spanish | cardenillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does verdigris come from?
From Middle English vertegrece, verdegres, from Old French verte grez (literally “acidic green”), an alteration of older verte de Grece (literally “green of Greece”). The modern French writing of this word is vert-de-gris (literally “green of gray”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).