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

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

How to use ermine in a sentence

  • It has his effigy in armour, with an ermined mantle, his feet leaning against a lion couchant.

    East Anglia | J. Ewing Ritchie
  • Stone forts and ermined judges were not, to the mind of the unbridled and ungovernable Metis.

  • The roofs wore white hoods or blankets, the trees absolutely stood still, ermined to their finger ends, someone said.

    Helen Grant's Schooldays | Amanda M. Douglas
  • On its ermined floor reposes a single feathery paddle of satin-wood; but no oarsmen or attendant is to be seen.

  • His appearance, however, was above his condition; he became his rags as proudly as a prince would have become his ermined robe.

    Auriol | W. Harrison Ainsworth

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