verdigris
/ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/
"verdigris" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“verdigris” is uncommon English (frequency #98,862 among 7,391 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #98,862
- frequency rank, English
- 7,391
- “V” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | verdigris |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #98,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “verdigris” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
verdigris is uncommon English at frequency #98,862 among 7,391 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for verdigris, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vertegrez, 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”). The correct English form is verdigris, spelled V-E-R-D-I-G-R-I-S.
Definition
- 1A blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals.
- 2Copper acetate.
- 3The color of this patina or material.
Etymology
From Middle English vertegrez, 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”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “verdigris”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-E-R-D-I-G-R-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈvɝ.də.ɡɹis/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.