What is "ermine"

Ermine \Er"mine\, v. t. To clothe with, or as with, ermine.

The snows that have ermined it in the winter.
--Lowell.

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.

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.

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.

4. (Her.) One of the furs. See Fur (Her.)

   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.

   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.

late 12c., from Old French ermine (12c., Modern French hermine), used in reference to both the animal and the fur. Apparently the word is a convergence of Latin (mus) Armenius "Armenian (mouse)" -- ermines being abundant in Asia Minor -- and an unrelated Germanic word for "weasel" (represented by Old High German harmo "ermine, stoat, weasel," adj. harmin; Old Saxon harmo, Old English hearma "shrew," etc.) that happened to sound like it. OED splits the difference between competing theories. The fur, especially with the black of the tail inserted at regular intervals in the pure white of the winter coat, was used for the lining of official and ceremonial garments, in England especially judicial robes, hence figurative use from 18c. for "the judiciary." Related: Ermined.

n. 1 A weasel, ''Mustela erminea'', found in northern latitudes; its dark brown fur turns white in winter (apart from the black tip of the tail) 2 The white fur of this animal 3 (context poetic English) A symbol of purity 4 (context figuratively English) The office of a judge 5 (context tincture English) A white field with black spots vb. To clothe with ermine

1. n. the expensive white fur of the ermine

2. mustelid of northern hemisphere in its white winter coat [syn: shorttail weasel, Mustela erminea]

Ermine is the common name for the stoat (Mustela erminea), more especially in its white winter coat

Ermine may also refer to:

• Ermine (heraldry), the white winter fur and black tail end of the stoat, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials
• "Ermine marks" are dark patches of color on the white limb of a horse, just above the level of the hoof
• Ermine moth, a family of moths
• Ermine, a northern suburb of Lincoln, England
• Ermine Street, a Roman Road running from London to Lincoln and York
• Ermine, Kentucky, a town in the U.S. state of Kentucky
• Ermine (organisation), a British educational management organisation
• Ermine (band), a Canadian progressive rock band

Ermine is a Canadian progressive rock band composed of singer/guitarist Matt Belyea, drummer Mike Belyea and bass guitarist Chuck Teed.

Ermine was formed in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, in 2001 and released two albums, Maps of The Rise and Fall and The Murra. The band was nominated for a 2004 East Coast Music Award as Alternative Artist of the Year. Ermine has performed alongside such notable Canadian acts as Wintersleep, The Tea Party and Treble Charger, and Greg Macpherson.

Ermine in heraldry is a "fur", or varied tincture, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat (a species of weasel with white fur and a black-tipped tail). The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved to use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails. Due largely to the association of the ermine fur with the linings of coronation cloaks, crowns and peerage caps, the heraldic tincture of ermine was usually reserved to similar applications in heraldry (i.e., the linings of crowns and chapeaux and of the royal canopy).