ermine

/ˈɜːmɪn/

//ˈɜːmɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ermine" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ermine” is uncommon English (frequency #55,416 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,416
frequency rank, English
18,836
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); its dark brown fur tur...

Corpus desk

Index EN-ermine · ermine · English

ermine · rank #55,416 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,416
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 18,836
  • PHOTO-FINISH episcopalian

Nearest frequency peer: episcopalian (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ermine”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ermine” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for ermine
PropertyValue
Headwordermine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɜːmɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#55,416
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ermine” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ermine lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ermine is uncommon English at frequency #55,416 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɜːmɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for ermine in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dut… The correct English form is ermine, spelled E-R-M-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); its dark brown fur turns white in winter, apart from the black tip of the tail.
  2. 2
    The white fur of this animal, traditionally seen as a symbol of purity and used for judges' robes.
  3. 3
    The office of a judge.
  4. 4
    The fur of this animal, used as a heraldic tincture: a white field with a repeating pattern of stylized black spots.
  5. 5
    Any of various moths, especially in the family Yponomeutidae

Etymology

From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansh carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound.

Synonyms

stoatshort-tailed weasel

This word in other languages

armiño(Español)hermine(Français)Hermelin(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ermine"?
"ermine" is spelled E-R-M-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɜːmɪn/.
What does "ermine" mean?
As a noun, "ermine" means: A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); its dark brown fur tur...
How do you pronounce "ermine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ermine" is /ˈɜːmɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ermine"?
From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (c... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ermine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

estado#55,417finery#55,437fletch#55,440forthe#55,443
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list