ferula
/ˈfɛɹ(j)ələ/obsolete
ferula is a noun meaning “A ferule” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-E-R-U-L-A, and it appears about once in every 39 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of ferula is ferulas or ferulae.
What does ferula mean?
noun
- 1
obsoleteA ferule.
- 2
archaicA stroke from a cane.
- 3
obsoleteThe imperial sceptre in the Byzantine Empire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce ferula?
- /ˈfɛɹ(j)ələ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ferula.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
How common is ferula?
Ferula appears about once in every 39 million words in written English, the 191,932nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Ferula in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stroke from a cane:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coup de cane |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ferula come from?
Borrowed from Latin ferula (“giant fennel”), whose stalks were once used in punishing schoolboys. Doublet of ferule.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).