Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ferret"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Ferret
Lev. 11:30 (R.V., "gecko"), one of the unclean creeping things.
It was perhaps the Lacerta gecko which was intended by the
Hebrew word (anakah, a cry, "mourning," the creature which
groans) here used, i.e., the "fan-footed" lizard, the gecko
which makes a mournful wail. The LXX. translate it by a word
meaning "shrew-mouse," of which there are three species in
Palestine. The Rabbinical writers regard it as the hedgehog. The
translation of the Revised Version is to be preferred.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ferret \Fer"ret\, n. [Ital. foretto, dim. of fiore flower; or F.
fleuret. Cf. {Floret}.]
A kind of narrow tape, usually made of woolen; sometimes of
cotton or silk; -- called also {ferreting}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ferret \Fer"ret\, n. [F. feret, dim. or fer iron, L. ferrum.]
(Glass Making)
The iron used for trying the melted glass to see if is fit to
work, and for shaping the rings at the mouths of bottles.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ferret \Fer"ret\, n. [F. furet, cf. LL. furo; prob. fr. L. fur
thief (cf. {Furtive}); cf. Arm. fur wise, sly.] (Zo["o]l.)
An animal of the Weasel family ({Mustela or Putorius furo}),
about fourteen inches in length, of a pale yellow or white
color, with red eyes. It is a native of Africa, but has been
domesticated in Europe. Ferrets are used to drive rabbits and
rats out of their holes.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ferret \Fer"ret\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ferreted}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Ferreting}.] [Cf. F. fureter. See {Ferret}, n.]
To drive or hunt out of a lurking place, as a ferret does the
cony; to search out by patient and sagacious efforts; --
often used with out; as, to ferret out a secret.
Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him.
--Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ferret
n 1: ferret of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct
[syn: {black-footed ferret}, {Mustela nigripes}]
2: domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for
hunting rats and rabbits
v 1: hound or harry relentlessly
2: hunt with ferrets
3: search and discover through persistent investigation; "She
ferreted out the truth" [syn: {ferret out}]
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