Ferula

//ˈfɛɹələ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A ferule. obsolete

    "He humbles with a ferula the tall ones"

  2. 2
    A stroke from a cane. archaic

    "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."

  3. 3
    The imperial sceptre in the Byzantine Empire. obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms
ferule

Example

More examples

"He humbles with a ferula the tall ones"

Etymology

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

Related phrases

byzantine empire

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.