Related Searches
Nearby Words
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.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Ermine
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
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. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To ermine
Example Sentences
- She favored sable, ermine and lynx, all of which were well represented in the collection.
- The beans were creamy and substantial, their velvet richness augmented by the plush ermine nature of the peppers.
- The future monarch is depicted lying on a luscious blue cloak lined with ermine on a canopied dais.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| ermine (ˈɜːmɪn) | |
| —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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
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
EXPAND happened to sound like it.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.