ermine

Meanings

Noun

• A weasel, Mustela erminea, found in northern latitudes; its dark brown fur turns white in winter (apart from the black tip of the tail).
• The white fur of this animal, traditionally seen as a symbol of purity and used for judges' robes.
• The office of a judge.
• A white field with black spots.
• Any of various moths, especially in the family Yponomeutidae

Adjective

• : In blazon, of the colour hermine (white with black spots).

Verb

• To clothe with ermine.

Related

Similar words

• stoat
• short-tailed weasel
• wild otter

Origin

• 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, from *harmo (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin, 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 or a posterior compound.