I. ˈferə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English feret, ferret, furet, from Middle French furet, fuiret, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin furittus, literally, small thief, diminutive of Latin fur thief — more at furtive
1.
a. : a semidomesticated variety of the European polecat sometimes treated as a separate species ( Mustela furo ) that is usually albino with red eyes and is much used for hunting rodents and sometimes rabbits in Europe and occasionally in the United States
b. : black-footed ferret
2. : a person who searches actively and persistently (as for incriminating information)
German ferrets who constantly spied on the Allied prisoners of war
3. : an airplane equipped to detect a radar installation and analyze its signals
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English fereten, fureten, from feret, furet, n.
transitive verb
1. : to hunt with a ferret:
a. : to hunt over
they have ferreted the duke's fields
b. : to hunt for : take ; especially : to drive especially from covert
they ferreted a number of rabbits
2. : to worry or harry as with a ferret
the king kept ferreting the rebellious baron
intransitive verb
1. : to hunt game or drive out vermin with a ferret
some United States states have laws against ferreting
2. : to search carefully or diligently and sometimes presumptuously : search about : pry
old-fashioned … to go ferreting into people's pasts — Virginia Woolf
III. noun
also fer·ret·ing -ə̇d.iŋ
( -s )
Etymology: ferret from earlier ferret silk, probably modification of Italian fioretti floss silk, from plural of fioretto small flower, diminutive of fiore flower, from Latin flor-, flos; ferreting from ferret + -ing — more at blow (blossom)
1. : a narrow silk tape or ribbon for trimming or decorative lacing
2. : a strong tape of cotton or wool for binding or shoelaces