ermine

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English [edit]

Mustela erminea

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine, from Old Dutch *harmino ‘stoat skin’, from *harmo ‘stoat, weasel’ (compare Dutch dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmōn (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (adj. harmin, obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormon (compare Romansch carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ).

Note: The supposed derivation from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (Armenian mouse) is without any foundation. [1]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia ermine (plural ermines)

  1. A weasel, Mustela erminea, found in northern latitudes; its dark brown fur turns white in winter (apart from the black tip of the tail)
  2. The white fur of this animal
  3. (poetic) A symbol of purity
  4. (figuratively) The office of a judge
  5. (heraldry) A white field with black spots

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

Verb [edit]

ermine (third-person singular simple present ermines, present participle ermining, simple past and past participle ermined)

  1. To clothe with ermine

References [edit]

  • OED 2nd edition 1989
  1. ^ ermine in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams [edit]


Old French [edit]

Noun [edit]

ermine f (oblique plural ermines, nominative singular ermine, nominative plural ermines)

  1. ermine (fabric)
    circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
    La pane fu de blanc ermine