Hermelin

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See also: hermelin

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German hermelīn, from Old High German harmilī, diminutive of harmo (“ermine”), from Proto-Germanic *harmô. Cognates outside Germanic only in Latvian sermulis and Lithuanian šarmuõ, šermuõ.

The monophthong -i- in modern German (alongside obsolete Hermlein, Hermelein) as well as the final stress can be explained natively, as being from a non-diphthongising dialect on the one hand, and by comparing the irregular stress shift in such words as Holunder, Wacholder, lebendig on the other. However, it seems likely that both developments were reinforced by Romance words such as Italian ermellino, armellino, French hermine. The origin of these latter is contested; they are either borrowed from Germanic or go back to an unrelated Medieval Latin Armenius mūs (literally “Armenian mouse”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /hɛʁməˈliːn/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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Hermelin n (strong, genitive Hermelins, plural Hermeline)

  1. (zoology) ermine (Mustela erminea)
  2. (heraldry) ermine

Declension

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Declension of Hermelin [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Hermelin die Hermeline
genitive eines des Hermelins der Hermeline
dative einem dem Hermelin den Hermelinen
accusative ein das Hermelin die Hermeline

Noun

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Hermelin m (strong, genitive Hermelins, plural Hermeline)

  1. ermine (white fur of the ermine)
  2. A moth (Trichosea ludifica (Noctuidae spp.))
    Synonym: gelber Hermelin

Declension

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Declension of Hermelin [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Hermelin die Hermeline
genitive eines des Hermelins der Hermeline
dative einem dem Hermelin den Hermelinen
accusative einen den Hermelin die Hermeline

References

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