The word for today is…
verdigris (noun) – 1. A blue or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment and fungicide.
- 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.
The most famous non appearance of verdigris that I can remember was on the cartridge casing found at the site of the Crewe murders some time after the fact. Was it planted or did it fall from test firing, and why didn’t the shell lose it’s shine were all questions that were never answered to my satisfaction.
Source : The Free Dictionary
Etymology : “Green of Greece”—that is the literal translation of vert de Grece, the Anglo-French phrase from which the modern word verdigris descends. A coating of verdigris forms naturally on copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze when those metals are exposed to air. (It can also be produced artificially.) The word verdigris has been associated with statuary and architecture, ancient and modern, since it was first used in the 14th century. Some American English speakers may find that they know it best from the greenish-blue coating that covers the copper of the Statue of Liberty.
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