n. 1. A blue or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment and fungicide. 2. 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. [Middle English vertegrez, from Old French verte grez, alteration of vert-de-Grice : verd, green; see VERDANT + de, of (from Latin dē; see DE-) + Grice, Greece.] (click for a larger image) verdigrisdetail of a bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc in Meridian Hill Park, Washington, DC |
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