Wiktionary

ermine

English edit

 
ermine, Mustela erminea
 
Various ways of representing ermine in heraldry.

Etymology edit

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 edit

Noun edit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

ermine (countable and uncountable, plural ermines or ermine)

  1. A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); 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) The fur of this animal, used as a heraldic tincture: a white field with a repeating pattern of stylized black spots.
  5. Any of various moths, especially in the family Yponomeutidae

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

Adjective edit

ermine (not comparable)

 
The coat of arms of Britanny is blazone ermine.
  1. (heraldry) In blazon, of the colour ermine (white with black spots).

Translations edit

Verb edit

ermine (third-person singular simple present ermines, present participle ermining, simple past and past participle ermined)

  1. (transitive) To clothe with ermine.

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Noun edit

ermine

  1. Alternative form of ermyne

Old French edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Either from Vulgar Latin *(mus) Armenius (“Armenian (mouse)”) (see Armenia) or Frankish *harmīn (“ermine”, adjective) (from *harmō (“ermine”)).

Noun edit

ermine oblique singular, f (oblique plural ermines, nominative singular ermine, nominative plural ermines)

  1. ermine (fabric)

Descendants edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=ermine&oldid=79604676"