The author discusses possible motivations for naming the ermine in Slavonic, adopts and further elaborates on the etymology of Common Slavonic *gornostajь/*gornostalь given by Černych (< Indo-European *gu̯her- ‘warm, hot; get warm’), which eventually leads to a new, alternative solution based on the connection with the Indo-European root *u̯erH- ‘blacken, get/be black’.