ermine

[ ur-min ]

noun,plural er·mines, (especially collectively) er·mine.
  1. an Old World weasel, Mustela erminea, having in its winter color phase a white coat with black at the tip of the tail.: Compare stoat.

  2. any of various weasels having a white winter coat.

  1. the lustrous, white, winter fur of the ermine, often having fur from the animal's black tail tip inserted at intervals for contrast.

  2. the rank, position, or status of a king, peer, or judge, especially one in certain European countries who wears, or formerly wore, a robe trimmed with ermine, as on official or state occasions.

  3. Heraldry. a fur, consisting of a conventional representation of tails, often with a pattern of dots, sable on argent.

adjective
  1. made of, covered, or adorned with ermine.

Origin of ermine

1
1150–1200; Middle English <Old French (h)ermine, noun use of feminine of (h)ermin (masculine adj.) <Latin Armenius, short for Armenius (mūs) Armenian (rat)

Other words from ermine

  • ermined, adjective
  • un·er·mined, adjective

Words Nearby ermine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ermine in a sentence

  • She looked at him, then looked down, resting her white chin on the warm white fur of the ermine.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • Just as they reached the house Jack stooped to arrange it, throwing it back on either side so that more of the ermine would show.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • When she left California her mother had urged her to take a small velvet cape lined with ermine.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • The ermine Street passes through this gate, running north from it for eleven or twelve miles as straight as an arrow.

    The Towns of Roman Britain | James Oliver Bevan

British Dictionary definitions for ermine

ermine

/ (ˈɜːmɪn) /


nounplural -mines or -mine
  1. the stoat in northern regions, where it has a white winter coat with a black-tipped tail

  2. the fur of this animal

  1. one of the two principal furs used on heraldic shields, conventionally represented by a white field flecked with black ermine tails: Compare vair

  2. the dignity or office of a judge, noble, or king

  3. short for ermine moth

Origin of ermine

1
C12: from Old French hermine, from Medieval Latin Armenius (mūs) Armenian (mouse)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012