Pronunciations (3)
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/ˈfɛɹuːl/
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/ˈfɛɹəl/
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ˈfɛɹuːl
Noun
A ruler-shaped instrument, generally used to slap naughty children on the hand.
Usage- Historical
- Synonyms
- Examples
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More examples (2)
In his hand he swayed a ferule, that sceptre of despotic power; the birch of justice reposed on three nails behind the throne, a constant terror to evil doers, […].
He [a midshipman] lords it over those below him, while lorded over himself by his superiors. It is as if with one hand a school-boy snapped his fingers at a dog, and at the same time received upon the other the discipline of the usher's ferule.
The master, who stood at the end of the room, with a huge ferule under his arm, bent full upon me a look of stern appeal; […]
More examples (2)
The schoolmaster, always severe, grew severer and more exacting than ever, for he wanted the school to make a good showing on "Examination" day. His rod and his ferule were seldom idle now—at least among the smaller pupils.
It is to keep a man awake, to keep him alive to his own soul and its fixed design of righteousness, that the better part of moral and religious education is directed; not only that of words and doctors, but the sharp ferule of calamity under which we are all God’s scholars till we die.
Verb
To punish with a ferule.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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And they were right in their assumption; I could cudgel a great lubberly delinquent of a boy[…]but when it came to feruling a girl[…]my manhood rebelled[…].
Noun
a switch (a stick or cane or flat paddle) used to punish children
- Broader terms