| 释义 |
fer·ret
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 |