'Ferret' definitions:

Definition of 'ferret'

noun

Musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct [syn: black-footed ferret, ferret, Mustela nigripes]

noun

Domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits

verb

Hound or harry relentlessly

verb

Hunt with ferrets

verb

Search and discover through persistent investigation; "She ferreted out the truth" [syn: ferret out, ferret]

From: GCIDE

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. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Ferret \Fer"ret\, n. [F. furet, cf. LL. furo; prob. fr. L. fur thief (cf. Furtive); cf. Arm. fur wise, sly.] (Zool.) An animal of the Weasel family (Mustela furo syn. {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. They are sometimes kept as pets. [1913 Webster +PJC]

From: GCIDE

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. [1913 Webster]
Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

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. [1913 Webster]

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.