ermine

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
ermine /ˈəːmɪn/

▶noun (pl. same or ermines)

• 1 a stoat.

  ■ the white winter fur of the stoat, used for trimming the ceremonial robes of judges or peers.

  ■ Heraldry fur represented as black spots on a white ground, as a heraldic tincture.

• 2 a stout-bodied moth that has cream or white wings with black spots. [Genus Spilosoma: several species.]

– derivatives
ermined adjective.

– origin ME: from OFr. hermine, prob. from med. L. (mus) Armenius ‘Armenian (mouse)’.