ermine

English

ermine, Mustela erminea

Etymology

From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine.

There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansch carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɜːmɪn/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɝmɪn/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)mɪn

Noun

ermine (countable and uncountable, plural ermines or ermine)

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, traditionally seen as a symbol of purity and used for judges' robes.
3. (by extension, figuratively) The office of a judge.
4. (heraldry) A white field with black spots.

Synonyms

• stoat (British)
• short-tailed weasel
• wild otter

Translations

Mustela erminea

• Albanian: ermelina ?
• Arabic: قَاقِم m (qāqim)
• Armenian: կնգում (hy) (kngum), սպիտակ աքիս (spitak akʻis)

  Middle Armenian: ախազ (axaz)

• Basque: erbinude zuri
• Belarusian: гарнаста́й m (harnastáj)
• Breton: erminig (br) ?
• Bulgarian: хермелин m (hermelin)
• Catalan: ermini m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 白鼬 (zh) (báiyòu)

• Chukchi: эмчьачокаԓгын (ėmčʹačokaḷgyn)
• Czech: hranostaj m
• Danish: hermelin (da) c, lækat (da) c
• Dutch: hermelijn (nl) m
• Esperanto: ermeno
• Estonian: kärp, lahits, hermeliin
• Faroese: roysikøttur m
• Finnish: kärppä (fi)
• French: hermine (fr) f
• Friulian: armelin ?
• Galician: armiño m
• Georgian: ყარყუმი (q̇arq̇umi)
• German: Hermelin (de) n
• Greek: ερμίνα (el) f (ermína)
• Hungarian: hermelin (hu)
• Icelandic: hreysiköttur (is) m
• Interlingua: armenio
• Interlingue:
• Irish: easóg f, cailín bán m, bláthnaid f (female)
• Italian: ermellino (it) m
• Japanese: おこじょ (ja) (okojo)
• Kipchak: ախ աս (ax as)
• Korean: 북방족제비 (bukbangjokjebi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: قاقِم (qaqim), قاقوم (qaqum)

  Northern Kurdish: fisos (ku), ququme (ku)

• Ladin: armelin ?
• Latin: Mustela erminea f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: sermulis m
• Lithuanian: šermuonėlis ?
• Lower Sorbian: hermelin ?
• Macedonian: хермели́н m (hermelín), ермели́н m (ermelín)
• Maltese: ermellin ?
• Maori: toriura
• Navajo: dlǫ́ʼiiłgaii
• Norman: b'lette f (Jersey)
• Northern Sami: buoidda
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: røyskatt (no) m

  Nynorsk: røyskatt m, røysekatt m

• Occitan: ermina (oc) f
• Persian: قاقم (fa) (qâqom)
• Polish: gronostaj (pl) m
• Portuguese: arminho (pt) m
• Romani: ermina f
• Romanian: hermelină (ro) f, hermină (ro) f
• Romansch: ermelin ?
• Russian: горноста́й (ru) m (gornostáj)
• Sardinian: ermellinu ?
• Scottish Gaelic: neas f, neas mhòr f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хермѐлӣн m, зѐрда̄в m

  Roman: hermèlīn (sh) m, zèrdāv (sh) m

• Shor: ас (as)
• Skolt Sami: puõiddi
• Slovak: hranostaj (sk) m
• Slovene: hermelin (sl) m
• Spanish: armiño (es) m
• Swedish: hermelin (sv) c, lekatt (sv) c
• Tagalog: arminyo
• Turkish: as (tr), kakım (tr), ermin (tr)
• Ukrainian: горноста́й (uk) m (hornostáj)
• Upper Sorbian: hermelin, hronostaj
• Volapük: härmin (vo)
• Welsh: carlwm m
• West Frisian: harmeling

the white fur of this animal

• Armenian:

  Middle Armenian: ախազ (axaz)

  Old Armenian: կնգմենի (kngmeni)

• Bulgarian: хермелин m (hermelin)
• Czech: hranostaj m
• Finnish: kärpännahka, hermeliini
• French: hermine (fr) f
• Georgian: ყარყუმი (q̇arq̇umi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Hermelin (de) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hermelin m

  Nynorsk: hermelin m

• Russian: горноста́й (ru) m (gornostáj)
• Spanish: armiño (es) m
• Volapük: (untanned) härminaskin, härminapläd, visafot

a symbol of purity

• Spanish: armiño (es) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

the office of a judge

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

(heraldry) a white field with black spots

• Czech: hermelín m
• Dutch: hermelijn (nl) m
• Finnish: kärpännahka
• French: hermine (fr) f
• German: Hermelin (de) n
• Italian: armellino (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: хермели́н m (hermelín)
• Polish: gronostaj (pl) m
• Romanian: herminat (ro) m or n
• Spanish: armiño (es) m
• Swedish: hermelin (sv) ?

Verb

1. To clothe with ermine.

Anagrams

• ReMine, Remine, emerin, enmire, remine

---

Middle English

Noun

ermine

1. Alternative form of ermyn

---

Old French

Alternative forms

• ermin

Noun

ermine oblique singular, 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