What does fitch mean?
Fitch is the traditional English name for the European polecat (Mustela putorius), a lithe, nocturnal member of the weasel family native to woodlands and hedgerows across Europe. The word also denotes the animal's pelt, which was once prized in the fur trade and, in a different craft, valued for the soft dark hair used to make fine artists' and signwriters' brushes. In heraldry, the fitch appears as the tail of certain creatures depicted with a tufted tip. Historically, the term could also refer to a kind of vetch, a plant of the pea family, reflecting shared origins of the words. Today fitch is largely a specialist or archaic term: naturalists, furriers, and heralds may still use it, but everyday speakers call the animal simply a polecat. Its decline in common usage makes it a charming relic of older English rural vocabulary.
nounA fitch is the European polecat (Mustela putorius), a small carnivorous mammal of the weasel family, or the pelt/fur of this animal, historically used in clothing and in the making of fine paintbrushes.
- The European polecat (Mustela putorius), a wild mustelid of Europe.
- The fur or pelt of the polecat, used in garments and in artistes' and signwriters' brushes.
"The gamekeeper spotted a fitch slipping through the hedgerow at dusk."
"Farmers once trapped the fitch heavily because it raided poultry coops."
"He restored the antique clock with a fine fitch brush bought from a specialist supplier."
Standard regular plural; rarely encountered except in historical or trade texts listing pelts.
"The merchant's inventory listed forty fitches bundled for export."
Before sable brushes took over, fine watercolourists painted with hair from the fitch — the humble polecat once had a place at the artist's easel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fitch
Fitch entered English from Old French, appearing in medieval usage both as the polecat and, in some contexts, as a variant of 'vetch', the plant — the two strands share a Romance origin ultimately traceable to Latin vicia, the vetch. The animal sense probably came through Middle Dutch or Low German influence alongside the French form. Related older English forms include 'fitchew' and 'fitchet', both names for the polecat recorded in early modern natural history writing.
Related word forms
How fitch is actually used
The word is now somewhat dated or specialist; most modern speakers say 'polecat' for the animal. 'Fitch' survives chiefly among furriers, heraldic writers, and traditional sign painters, and appears in older natural-history texts.
Easily confused with fitch
Vetch is a climbing plant of the pea family, whereas fitch refers to the polecat or its fur; the two words share a historical origin but mean entirely different things.
A flitch is a side of cured bacon (or a beam), not an animal, despite the similar spelling.