the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Mustela (weasel) > mustela furo (ferret) > male
1688 R. Holme ii. 136/1 The male..Ferret [is] the Hob.
1882 Hob-ferret, a male ferret. [In Staffordshire the male of a ferret is called ‘the hob’, the female ‘the gill’.]