Defn: 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. Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. Shak.
FERRET Fer"ret, n. Etym: [Ital. foretto, dim. of fiore flower; or F. fleuret. Cf. Floret.]
Defn: A kind of narrow tape, usually made of woolen; sometimes of cotton or silk; — called also ferreting.
FERRET
Fer"ret, n. Etym: [F. feret, dim. or fer iron, L. ferrum.] (Glass
Making)
Defn: 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.
FERRETER
Fer"ret*er, n.
Defn: One who ferrets. Johnson.
FERRET-EYE
Fer"ret-eye`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The spur-winged goose; — so called from the red circle around the eyes.
FERRETTO
Fer*ret"to, n. Etym: [It. ferretto di Spagna, dim. of ferro iron, fr.
L. ferrum.]