1. plural of ermine: small weasels with white winter fur, or the white fur itself used for clothing
2. ceremonial robes trimmed with ermine fur, especially those worn by judges or nobility
Usage: formal; ceremonial

Examples

• The ermines in the forest change color from brown to white in winter.
• Trappers once hunted ermines for their valuable white pelts.
• The judge wore traditional ermines during the formal ceremony.
• Royal portraits often show monarchs dressed in ermines.
• The museum displayed ancient ermines worn by medieval nobles.
• Wildlife photographers captured images of ermines hunting in the snow.