in heraldry is a "fur", a type of tincture, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat (a species of weasel with white fur and a black-tipped tail). The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved for use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails.
Blackadder: This is not cat, Mrs. Miggins. This is finest, leather-trimmed ermine with gold medallion accessories.
Mrs. Miggins: Oh go on, Mr. Blackadder - it's cat. Ooh, look, they've left the little collars on!
BBC. Blackadder, season 3: Dish and Dishonesty.
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Clad in royal purple and ermine, he was seated upon a throne which was at the same time both simple and majectic.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Little Prince, p.35 (Katherine Woods translation) (1943)
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the elder lady was enveloped in a costly velvet shawl, trimmed with ermine, and she wore a false front of French curls.
Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre (1847)
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When they allied themselves with the Féterne family, their blazon changed, but remained cantoned within twenty cross crosslets fitchee in base or, a dexter canton ermine.”
Marcel Proust. In Search of Lost Time [volume 4]
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There would be mention of the bishops in their lawn sleeves, the judges in their ermine robes, the pillory, the stocks, the treadmill, the cat o’ nine tails, the Lord Mayor’s Banquet and the practice of kissing the Pope’s toe.