ferula

[ fer-oo-luh, fer-yoo- ]

/ ˈfɛr ʊ lə, ˈfɛr yʊ- /

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noun, plural fer·u·las, fer·u·lae

[fer-oo-lee, fer-yoo-]. /ˈfɛr ʊˌli, ˈfɛr yʊ-/.

Botany. any of various plants belonging to the genus Ferula, of the parsley family, chiefly of the Mediterranean region and central Asia, generally tall and coarse with dissected leaves, many of the Asian species yielding strongly scented, medicinal gum resins.

ferule¹ (def. 1).

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Origin of ferula

1350–1400; Middle English <New Latin, Latin; see ferule¹

Words nearby ferula

fertility symbol, fertilization, fertilize, fertilizer, fertilizin, ferula, ferule, ferulic acid, ferv., fervency, fervent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ferula in a sentence

Of Umbelliferae there exists in the low country one Ferula, a small tree of unknown properties.
The Highlands of Ethiopia|William Cornwallis Harris
An inferior sort is the product of certain species of Ferula.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2|Various
The old gentleman jumped up, ferula in hand, and darted across the school, and saw himself upon the fatal slate.
Westward Ho!|Charles Kingsley
There also are found in abundance the great umbelliferous plants—Ferula glauca, Ferula candelabra, and the Ferula asafœtida.
Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2)|Isabella L. Bird

With a bounding heart, he tossed away his ferula, and hastened to the scene, where joys for evermore seemed calling on him.
The Life of Friedrich Schiller|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for ferula

ferula

/ (ˈfɛrʊlə, ˈfɛrjʊ-) /

noun plural -las or -lae (-ˌliː)

any large umbelliferous plant of the Mediterranean genus Ferula, having thick stems and dissected leaves: cultivated as the source of several strongly scented gum resins, such as galbanum

a rare word for ferule 1

Derived forms of ferula

ferulaceous (ˌfɛruːˈleɪʃəs, ˌfɛrjuː-), adjective

Word Origin for ferula

C14: from Latin: giant fennel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012