Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A blue or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment and fungicide.
- noun A green patina or crust of copper sulfate or copper chloride formed on copper, brass, and bronze exposed to air or seawater for long periods of time.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A substance obtained by exposing plates of copper to the air in contact with acetic acid, and much used as a pigment, as a mordant in dyeing wool black, in calico-printing, and in gilding, in several processes in the chemical arts, and in medicine.
- To cause to be coated with verdigris; cover or coat with verdigris.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Chem.) A green poisonous substance used as a pigment and drug, obtained by the action of acetic acid on copper, and consisting essentially of a complex mixture of several basic copper acetates.
- noun colloq. The green rust formed on copper.
- noun (Chem.) a verdigris having a blue color, used as a pigment, etc.
- noun (Old Chem.) an acid copper acetate; -- so called because the acetic acid used in making it was obtained from distilled vinegar.
- noun clear bluish green, the color of verdigris.
- transitive verb rare To cover, or coat, with verdigris.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A blue-green
patina that forms on copper-containing metals. - noun chemistry, dated Copper acetate.
- noun The
colour of thispatina or material. - verb To cover, or coat, with verdigris.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a blue or green powder used as a paint pigment
- verb color verdigris
- noun a green patina that forms on copper or brass or bronze that has been exposed to the air or water for long periods of time
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In the same way they put in plates of copper and make verdigris, which is called "aeruca."
The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio
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The trace of tarnished copper, commonly called verdigris, poisoned the wholesome draught; a minute dose administered by stealth did incalculable mischief.
Cousin Pons Honor�� de Balzac 1824
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There is a school of thought that says the alchemists mistook vitriol for verdigris, which is copper (II) acetate.
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Orpiment made a brilliant yellow pigment, but it turned an unattractive dark shade when mixed with or placed close to copper - or lead-based colors such as verdigris or vermilion.
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Some organic acids form copper salts, which generally are toxic, such as verdigris induced by acetic, lactic or tartaric acids.
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With regard to the colic, I think it is occasioned by the verdigris which is mixed with every thing they eat or drink.
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* littlebuhnee: crocheted treasure tote ( "Choosing of the Fairest") * sealgair: earrings: Turquoise, copper wire & "verdigris" feathers.
Monday tamidon 2009
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She held the verdigris watering can in one muddy hand.
The Bird House Kelly Simmons 2011
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I can see the maple tree outside the window, and beyond it, the old field on one side and the park with the verdigris Revolutionary War statue on the other.
The Bird House Kelly Simmons 2011
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The art-house chain MK2 has two multiplexes on either side of the Canal de l'Ourcq and a jaunty, white electric boat that shuttles across the verdigris water.
All Aboard for le Cinéma Français Lennox Morrison 2011
halcyonwhimsy commented on the word verdigris
This is my all time favorite word for a color (green).
This word has a chemistry and artistic background and is quite a rare color to obtain/find naturally.
It has been, I believe, re-popularized by its use in the musical Wicked.
October 2, 2007
shoepixie commented on the word verdigris
There are so many many many words for the colour of green that are actually quite lovely...Red-words get all the credit, boo!
April 16, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word verdigris
"The manufacture of verdigris, for example, occupied about eight hundred families and brought in as much as 800,000 livres a year. It was made in the cellars of ordinary homes, where copper plates were stacked in clay pots filled with distilled wine. The women of the household scraped the 'verdet' (copper acetate) off the plates once a week. Agents collected it, going from house to house; and large merchant firms ... marketed it everywhere in Europe."
—Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, And Other Episodes in French Cultural History (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 114
September 22, 2008
mechanolatry commented on the word verdigris
Also called aerugo.
January 29, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word verdigris
And one day, he'll say to me, "Elphaba,
A girl who is so superior,
Shouldn't a girl who's so good inside
Have a matching exterior?
And since folks here to an absurd degree
Seem fixated on your verdigris.
Would it be all right by you
If I de-greenify you?"
(The Wizard and I, from the musical Wicked)
February 11, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word verdigris
"To pep up their colour, some added copper salts to the water or used a copper pan with vinegar for boiling, a habit that might have worked, but that also risked poisoning the diners with highly toxic verdigris. Georgian writers continuously warned their readers to carefully wash and dry their copper pans and ensure that they were kept well tinned to avoid the green killer, and there were similar warnings about storing pickles in pottery with lead glazes."
--Kate Colquhoun, Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking (NY: Bloomsbury, 2007), 207
January 17, 2017