ferrule

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ferrule

  • /ˈfɛɹ.(ə)l/ UK
  • /-ɹuːl/ UK
  • /ˈfɛɹ.əl/ US

Sounds like feral, ferryl, Farrell (Mary–marry–merry merger) · Rhymes with -ɛɹəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English verel, virel, virole (“ferrule; metal pivot on the end of an axle”), altered under the influence of Latin ferrum (“iron”), from Old French virole (“ferrule”), from Latin viriola (“little bracelet”), diminutive of viria (“bracelet worn by men”), from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *weiros (“crooked”) (compare Middle Irish fiar (“bent, crooked”), Welsh gŵyr, Breton gwar (“curved”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁ros (“threaded, turned, twisted”), from *weyh₁- (“to turn, twist, weave”).

noun ferrules

  1. A band or cap (usually metal) placed around a shaft to reinforce it or to prevent splitting. The cane was produced in court; it was as stout as an old-fashioned club, and of terrific weight. The man who wielded it must have been very powerful, for he had only dealt one blow, but that blow had cracked the old man's skull. The cane was undoubtedly of foreign make, for it had a solid silver fe
  2. specifically The metal spike at the end of the shaft of an ice axe. He [Larry Penberthy] feels metal ice axes are the only safe ones. […] If you do purchase a wood-shafted ax, examine the grain carefully. It should be straight, free of knots and flaws, and continue unbroken from head to ferrule. Rub it often with linseed oil.
  3. A bushing for securing a pipe joint. Lead pipe is usually wiped to caulking ferrules so it can be joined to another type of material. Ferrules must be made of red brass.
  4. A metal sleeve placed inside a gutter at the top. Another method of attaching gutters is the spike-and-ferrule system. Position the gutter, then temporarily nail it to the fascia with 6d common nails at several places. Place the ferrule inside the gutter at bead height, lined up with the end of a rafter. Drive the spike through the gutter bead, fer
  5. The plastic band attaching the tip to the cue. During a short break he clamped the tenon machine to the countertop; then he took a few cues that were in need of repair and began replacing their ferrules. […] By two-thirty, a dozen cues had new white ferrules and leather tips.
  6. The pinched metal band which holds the bristles of a paintbrush or the eraser of a pencil to the shaft; a similar band crimped as part of a cable terminal or to terminate a hose. The ferrule is the part of the brush that connects the bristles to the handle. The type of ferrule often dictates the name of the brush, such as a 3-inch flat-ferrule or an oval-ferrule sash. […] The ferrule is attached to the handle with small nails (brads) or by crimping the ferrule around the han

Similar: virl

verb ferrules · ferruling · ferruled

  1. transitive To equip with a ferrule. "District school, I mean," said Dave, with a flourish of the hand. "Where the master or mistress boards about, and ferrules the children with a pine ruler, if they don't toe a crack every spelling time."

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