'Patina' started as a flat dish — the film on an old plate's surface became a metaphor for dignified aging.
A green or brown film formed on the surface of bronze or copper by oxidation over a long period; a gloss or sheen on a surface resulting from age or polishing; a superficial appearance or aura of something.
From Italian 'patina,' meaning a thin coating or surface film, from Latin 'patina' (a broad, shallow dish or pan), from Greek 'patanē' (πατάνη, a flat dish, plate). The semantic development moved from 'dish' to 'the discoloration or coating that forms on the surface of a dish over time' — the characteristic sheen that develops on well-used metal or ceramic vessels. Some scholars suggest connection to Latin 'patēre' (to lie open, be exposed
The Statue of Liberty's green color is a patina — a layer of copper carbonate that formed over decades of exposure to New York Harbor's salt air. When the statue was first assembled in 1886, it was the reddish-brown color of a new penny. The transformation to green took approximately twenty years, and the patina now actually protects