Why “greasepaint” is a great word
A thick, waxy cosmetic of colored grease and pigment used to create a theatrical character's visage, forged from the practical union of *grease* (from Middle English *grece*, from Anglo-Norman *grece*, ultimately from Latin *crassus*, meaning 'fat, thick') and *paint* (from Middle English *peinten*, from Old French *peint*, past participle of *peindre*, meaning 'to paint'). Unlike foundation, which seeks to perfect and normalize the skin, or cork, a dry, sooty powder for crude blackface, greasepaint is the medium of deliberate transformation. It is the cold, stiff stick warming under the thumb, the sharp scent of oil and pigment in the dressing-room air, and the mask-like barrier it sets between the actor and the watching dark—a second, more honest skin, crafted for the luminous lie of the stage.