ermine
/ˈɝmɪn/noun, adjective, verb
ermine is spelled E-R-M-I-N-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ermine is ermines.
How many letters and syllables are in ermine?
| Letters | 6: E-R-M-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 55,433rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ermine?
Ermine appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ermine?
- UK /ˈɜːmɪn/
- US /ˈɝmɪn/
Ermine has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ermine.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ermine?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ermine from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹmɪn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ermine
- ermines plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ermining participle, present
- ermined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ermine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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
The white fur of this animal, traditionally seen as a symbol of purity and used for judges' robes.
- 3
The office of a judge.
- 4
The fur of this animal, used as a heraldic tincture: a white field with a repeating pattern of stylized black spots.
- 5
Any of various moths, especially in the family Yponomeutidae
adjective
- 1
In blazon, of the colour ermine (white with black spots).
verb
- 1
To clothe with ermine.
adjective
- 1
Alternative spelling of erminee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate ermine?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of ermine: er..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ermine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Mustela erminea, M. richardsonii, M. haidarum:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ermine come from?
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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).