- Any one of various species of small carnivores belonging to
the genus Putorius, as the ermine and ferret. They have a slender,
elongated body, and are noted for the quickness of their movements and
for their bloodthirsty habit in destroying poultry, rats, etc. The
ermine and some other species are brown in summer, and turn white in
winter; others are brown at all seasons.
Definition
[ n.]