stoat

Meaning

Mustela erminea, the ermine or short-tailed weasel, a mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip.

Synonyms

ermine

short-tailed weasel

ferret

miniver

mink

weasel

mountain weasel

badger

🦡

Nearctic ermine

fitch

marten

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈstəʊt/

Etymology

From Middle English stote (“the ermine, especially in its brown summer coat”), of uncertain origin. The word bears some resemblance to Old Norse stutr (“bull”), Swedish stut (“bull, steer”) and Danish stud (“steer”) (see also English stot), but the semantic link is difficult unless a common origin is from “(brown?) male mammal”. First attested in the mid 1400s.