ermine
part of speech
noun (an ermine, ermines; ermine — uncountable for the fur)
meaning for a pupil
1) A stoat (a small, long-bodied animal of the weasel family) in its white winter coat, with a black tip to its tail. tree →
2) The white fur of this animal, with black spots, worn on the robes of kings, queens, judges and lords. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons the ermine shows how some animals change colour with the seasons for camouflage in snow. In history and pictures of coronations, kings and peers wear ermine-trimmed robes as a sign of rank. In The Wind in the Willows stoats are the enemies of the riverbank animals.
examples
- The ermine turned white in winter to hide in the snow. tree →
- The king's robe was trimmed with ermine. tree →
- An ermine has a black tip to its tail all year round. tree →
- In summer the same animal is brown and is called a stoat. tree →
- The judges wore red robes with ermine collars. tree →
- Stoats and weasels took over Toad Hall. tree →
- She wore a pointed cap of quilted red satin turned up with ermine, her hair streamed loose over her shoulders, and she walked with a staff. tree →
note
«Ermine» and «stoat» are the same animal; «ermine» is used for the white winter coat and the fur. Today most people think killing animals for fur is wrong, and many robes now use fake fur.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «ermine» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.