Definition/Meaning of ermine

• English - Noun: Wikipedia ermine ( plural ermine or ermines ) 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 ( poetic ) A symbol of purity ( figuratively ) The office of a judge ( heraldry ) A white field with black spots Synonyms stoat ( British ) short-tailed weasel wild otter Translations
• English - Verb: ermine ( third-person singular simple present ermines , present participle ermining , simple past and past participle ermined ) To clothe with ermine
• English - Etymology: From Middle English ermine , ermin , ermyn , from Old French ermin , ermine , hermine , from Old Dutch *harmino ‘stoat skin’, from *harmo ‘stoat, weasel’ (compare Dutch dialectal herm ), from Proto-Germanic *harmô (compare Old English hearma , Old High German harmo (adj. harmin , obsolete German Harm ), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansch carmun , obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ ).…
• English - Pronunciation: IPA (key) : /ˈɜːmɪn/ Rhymes: -ɜː(r)mɪn
• English - References: OED 2nd edition 1989 ^ ermine in The Century Dictionary , The Century Co ., New York , 1911