Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Ferula
Fer′u·la (fĕr′ū·lȧ), n. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. Ferule.] 1. A ferule. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
2. The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire.