ferula

F4E1R1U1L1A1
/ˈfɛɹ(j)ələ/

noun

A ferule.

OriginLatin ferula →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounferula (plural ferulas or ferulae)

plural ferulas · plural ferulae

  1. obsoleteA ferule.

    He humbles with a ferula the tall ones

    1613–1614, William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, “The Two Noble Kinsmen”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)
  2. archaicA stroke from a cane.

    And Old Barrett has a new way of twisting the note so that you can't open it and fold it again to see how many ferulæ you are to get.

    1916, James Joyce, chapter I, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC, page 46
  3. obsoleteThe imperial sceptre in the Byzantine Empire.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
ferule

Origin

  1. Latinferula“giant fennel”
  2. Englishferula

Borrowed from Latin ferula (“giant fennel”), whose stalks were once used in punishing schoolboys. Doublet of ferule.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French coup de cane
  • coup de canestroke from a cane

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Lauferearful
Cite this entry
APA

ferula. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferula

MLA

“ferula.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferula. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ferula,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferula.

Source: ferula on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.