ermine
Use Ermine in a sentence
mɪn noun
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.
3.
the lustrous, white, winter fur of the ermine, often having fur from the animal's black tail tip inserted at intervals for contrast.
4.
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.
5.
Heraldry. a fur, consisting of a conventional representation of tails, often with a pattern of dots, sable on argent.
adjective
6.
made of, covered, or adorned with ermine.
00:10
Ermine
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Origin:
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)
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)
Related forms
er·mined, adjective
un·er·mined, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To ermine
Collins
World English Dictionary
ermine (ˈɜːmɪn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -mines, -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 |
| 3. | Compare vair one of the two principal furs used on heraldic shields, conventionally represented by a white field flecked with black ermine tails |
| 4. | the dignity or office of a judge, noble, or king |
| 5. | short for ermine moth |
| [C12: from Old French hermine, from Medieval Latin Armenius (mūs) Armenian (mouse)] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ermine
c.1175, from O.Fr. hermine, both the animal and the fur, apparently from a convergence of L. (mus) Armenius "Armenian (mouse)," ermines being abundant in Asia Minor; and an unrelated Gmc. word for "weasel" (cf. O.H.G. harmo "ermine, stoat, weasel," adj. harmin; O.Saxon harmo, O.E. hearma, etc.) that
happened to sound like it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Small mammals such as voles and ermine spend much of their winter lives under the snow, sheltered from the cold world above.
The first benches are already occupied by a crowd of venerable figures muffled in robes of ermine, velvet, and scarlet cloth.
Featured pieces include cashmere sweaters, ermine suède loafers, and a navy mohair blazer.
It's a sort of mud that sticks to the judge's ermine or the cardinal's robe as fast as to the rags of the tramp.
Nearby Words
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