ferule
/ˈfɛɹuːl/noun, verb
ferule is a noun meaning “A ruler-shaped instrument, generally used to slap naughty children on the hand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-E-R-U-L-E, and it appears about once in every 63 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of ferule is ferules.
What does ferule mean?
noun
- 1
A ruler-shaped instrument, generally used to slap naughty children on the hand.
verb
- 1
To punish with a ferule.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce ferule?
- /ˈfɛɹuːl/
- /ˈfɛɹəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ferule.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ferule
- ferules plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- feruling participle, present
- feruled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is ferule?
Ferule appears about once in every 63 million words in written English, the 249,463rd 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).
Ferule in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ruler-shaped instrument:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | férule |
| Portuguese | palmatória |
| Spanish | férula |
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 ferule come from?
From Middle French ferule (modern French férule), from Latin ferula (“giant fennel”). Doublet of ferula.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).