ferula

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

/ ˈfɛr ʊ lə, ˈfɛr yʊ- /

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).

Nearby words

Origin of ferula

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ferula

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
Of Umbelliferae there exists in the low country one Ferula, a small tree of unknown properties.
The Highlands of Ethiopia|William Cornwallis Harris
This substance is described in the London Pharmacopia as a gum resin, the production of an uncertain species of Ferula.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
In this place we are called upon to consider, whether it be more agreeable to have Latin or the ferula at our fingers ends.
The Comic Latin Grammar|Percival Leigh

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

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 Formsferulaceous (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