ferule

¹ American  

[fer-uhl, -ool] / ˈfɛr əl, -ul /

noun

1. Also a rod, cane, or flat piece of wood for punishing children, especially by striking them on the hand.

---

verb (used with object)

feruled, feruling

1. to punish with a ferule.

ferule ² American  

[fer-uhl, -ool] / ˈfɛr əl, -ul /

noun

feruled, feruling

1. ferrule.

---

ferule ¹ British  

/ -rəl, ˈfɛruːl /

noun

1. a flat piece of wood, such as a ruler, used in some schools to cane children on the hand

---

verb

1. rare (tr) to punish with a ferule

ferule ² British  

/ ˈfɛruːl, -rəl /

noun

1. a variant spelling of ferrule

---

Etymology

Origin of ferule

1375–1425; late Middle English ferula, ferul ( e ) giant fennel < Latin ferula schoolmaster's rod (literally, stalk of giant fennel); replacing Old English ferele < Latin

Example Sentences

A kind of miracle happened: the ferule of the teacher became the poet's magic wand.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yen picked up his ferule and hit it like a student.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

"His ferule was sharp as a knife," said overgrown Jo Tucker, the butt of the school.

From Harper's Young People, May 25, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

People said the steel ferule of the umbrella had attracted the electric current.

From My Little Sister by Robins, Elizabeth

Jenny used to sit for hours together in St. James's Park, scratching aimlessly upon the gravel with the ferule of her parasol.

From Carnival by MacKenzie, Compton

Related Words

• berate
• castigate
• censure
• flog
• lash
• punish
• upbraid