Ermine

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ermine \Er"mine\, v. t.
     To clothe with, or as with, ermine.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           The snows that have ermined it in the winter. --Lowell.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ermine \Er"mine\, n. [OF. ermine, F. hermine, prob. of German
     origin; cf. OHG. harmo, G. hermelin, akin to Lith. szarm?,
     szarmonys, weasel, cf. AS. hearma; but cf. also LL.
     armelinus, armellina, hermellina, and pellis Armenia, the fur
     of the Armenian rat, mus Armenius, the animal being found
     also in Armenia.]
     1. (Zo["o]l.) A valuable fur-bearing animal of the genus
        Mustela ({M. erminea}), allied to the weasel; the stoat.
        It is found in the northern parts of Asia, Europe, and
        America. In summer it is brown, but in winter it becomes
        white, except the tip of the tail, which is always black.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The fur of the ermine, as prepared for ornamenting
        garments of royalty, etc., by having the tips of the
        tails, which are black, arranged at regular intervals
        throughout the white.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. By metonymy, the office or functions of a judge, whose
        state robe, lined with ermine, is emblematical of purity
        and honor without stain. --Chatham.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Her.) One of the furs. See {Fur} (Her.)
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Ermine is represented by an argent field, tufted with
           black. Ermines is the reverse of ermine, being black,
           spotted or timbered with argent. Erminois is the same
           as ermine, except that or is substituted for argent.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Ermine moth} (Zo["o]l.), a white moth with black spots (esp.
        {Yponomeuta padella} of Europe); -- so called on account
        of the resemblance of its covering to the fur of the
        ermine; also applied to certain white bombycid moths of
        America.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ermine
       n 1: the expensive white fur of the ermine
       2: mustelid of northern hemisphere in its white winter coat
          [syn: {shorttail weasel}, {Mustela erminea}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  172 Moby Thesaurus words for "ermine":
     Australian seal, achievement, alerion, animal charge, annulet,
     argent, armorial bearings, armory, arms, azure, bandeau, bar,
     bar sinister, baton, bearings, bearskin, beaver, beaverette, bend,
     bend sinister, billet, black fox, black marten, black sable,
     blazon, blazonry, bordure, broad arrow, brook mink, buckskin,
     cadency mark, calf, calfskin, canton, cap of dignity,
     cap of maintenance, capeskin, cat, chaplet, charge, chevron, chief,
     chinchilla, chinchillette, coast seal, coat of arms, cockatrice,
     coney, coronet, cowhide, crescent, crest, cross, cross moline,
     crown, deerskin, device, diadem, difference, differencing, doeskin,
     eagle, electric seal, ermines, erminites, erminois, escutcheon,
     falcon, fess, fess point, field, file, flanch, fleece,
     fleur-de-lis, fox, fret, fur, furs, fusil, garland, genet,
     goatskin, great seal, griffin, gules, gyron, hatchment, helmet,
     heraldic device, honor point, impalement, impaling, inescutcheon,
     jaguar, label, lapin, leopard, lion, lozenge, mantling, marmot,
     marshaling, marten, martlet, mascle, merino, metal, mink, mole,
     moleskin, monkey, motto, mullet, muskrat, nombril point, nutria,
     octofoil, or, orb, ordinary, orle, otter, pale, paly, pean, pelts,
     pheon, pigskin, privy seal, purple, purple pall, purpure, quarter,
     quartering, rabbit, rabbitskin, raccoon, regalia, robe of state,
     rod, rod of empire, rose, royal crown, sable, saltire, scepter,
     scutcheon, seal, shagreen, sheepskin, shield, signet, skunk,
     spread eagle, squirrel, subordinary, tenne, tiara, tiger, tincture,
     torse, tressure, triple plume, unicorn, uraeus, vair, vert,
     white fox, wool, wreath, yale
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Ermine, KY
    Zip code(s): 41815