Plural of ermine; multiple small white-furred weasels or pieces of their prized fur used for trim and decoration.
From Old French 'hermine,' becoming the standard English plural by adding '-s'; the term has been used since the medieval period to describe both the living animal and the commercial fur trade.
The ermine fur trade was a major medieval business—entire fortunes were made buying and selling these little weasel pelts, and their white winter coats became more valuable than gold to European nobility.
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