mink

1 the expensive fur of a mink

2 fur coat made from the soft lustrous fur of minks [syn: mink coat]

3 slender-bodied semiaquatic mammal having partially webbed feet; valued for its fur

see Mink

English

Pronunciation

• , /mɪŋk/, /mINk/

  Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Noun

mink (see individual definitions for plurals)

1. (plural mink) Any of various semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammal, similar to a weasel, with dark fur and native to Europe and America.
2. (plural minks) A mink coat.

Translations

Dutch: nerts

mink coat See mink coat

Derived terms

• mink coat

See also

• polecat

Swedish

Noun

mink

1. American mink (Mustela vison)

There are two living species of mink. The American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but is much larger. All three species of mink are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and the otters. The American Mink is larger, and more adaptable than the European Mink. It is sometimes possible to distinguish the European and American species based on the fact that the American Mink usually lacks a large white patch on its upper lip, while the European Mink always possesses one. Any mink without such a patch can be identified with certainty as an American Mink, but an individual with such a patch, if encountered in continental Europe, cannot be certainly identified without looking at the skeleton. The American Mink's fur has been highly prized for its use in clothing, with hunting giving way to large-scale mink farming. Its treatment has also been a focus of animal welfare activism.

American Mink have found their way into the wild in Europe (including Great Britain) and South America, after being released from mink farms by animal rights activists. American Mink are believed by some to have contributed to the decline of the less hardy European mink through competition. Trapping is used to control and eliminate any feral American Mink.

Species

• European Mink Mustela lutreola
• American Mink Neovison vison
• Sea Mink Neovison macrodon (extinct)