ermine

UK: /ˈɜː^rmɪn/ US: /ˈɝmɪn/ ,(ûr′min)

Inflections of 'ermine' (n):

ermines

npl (All usages)

ermine

npl (Can be used as a collective plural––e.g. "Ermine are kept by fur farmers.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

er•mine /ˈɜrmɪn/   n., pl. -mines, (esp. when thought of as a group) -mine for 1.   

1. Mammals [countable] a weasel having a white coat with a black-tipped tail in the winter.
2. Clothing [uncountable] the white winter fur of the ermine.

er•mined, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

er•mine  (ûr′min), n., pl. -mines, (esp. collectively) -mine, adj. 
n. 

1. Mammals an Old World weasel, Mustela erminea, having in its winter color phase a white coat with black at the tip of the tail. Cf. stoat.
2. Mammals any of various weasels having a white winter coat.
3. Clothing the lustrous, white, winter fur of the ermine, often having fur from the animal's black tail tip inserted at intervals for contrast.
4. World History the rank, position, or status of a king, peer, or judge, esp. 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.

adj. 

6. Clothing made of, covered, or adorned with ermine.

• Latin Armenius, short for Armenius (mūs) Armenian (rat)
• Old French (h)ermine, noun, nominal use of feminine of (h)ermin (masculine adjective, adjectival)
• Middle English 1150–1200

er′mined, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

ermine / ˈɜːmɪn/ noun ( -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. one of the two principal furs used on heraldic shields, conventionally represented by a white field flecked with black ermine tails
   Compare vair
4. the dignity or office of a judge, noble, or king

Etymology: 12th Century: from Old French hermine, from Medieval Latin Armenius (mūs) Armenian (mouse)