stoat=weasel=hermine coincidence OR?

[Michal]

No: HPFGUIDX 110482

Michal here:

While rereading SS/PS yesterday I was inspired to look up "stoat." I'd 
always figured it was some unusual edible typical to Hagrid Cuisine and had 
no significance. Should have known better! Finding no references on the net 
or in the fraction of the HP4G archives I searched (grrrr! is there an 
easier way?), here's what I found.

stoat noun:   the ermine in its brown summer coat with black-tipped tail

ermine noun: 1. small northern weasel: a small northern weasel, with dark 
fur, whose silky winter coat is white except for a black-tipped tail. Latin 
name Mustela erminea. [12th century. From Old French (h)ermine , probably 
from medieval Latin (mus) Armenius  "Armenian (mouse)."] Second etymology 
from another source: [OF. ermine, F. hermine, prob. of German origin; cf. 
OHG. harmo, G. hermelin, akin to Lith. szarm?, szarmonys, weasel, cf. AS. 
hearma; but cf. also LL. armelinus, armellina, hermellina, and pellis 
Armenia, the fur of the Armenian rat, mus Armenius, the animal being found 
also in Armenia.]

I was struck by the similarities to "Weasley" and "Hermione." Of course, 
the leap from Weasley to weasel has already been made in our story, but not 
the connection between Hermione and this little animal. With JKR's 
expertise in French, it's not unlikely she's made the connection herself. 
The mouse/rat connection might be interesting, too.

In playful extrapolation, might we have:

1. Weasley sandwiches instead of stoat sandwiches?  Well, Ron's sandwiches 
on the HE were as unappetizing as Hagrid's.

2. If Ron and Hermione wed, she'll be Hermione Weasley aka "stoat stoat" 
provided we overlook the addition of the lowercase "o."

3. BTW, my web search for "hermine" revealed that at least one HP video 
game misspells H's name; coincidence? error? Who knows......

If this is old info, could you point me to the original? TIA.