Noah Webster
Ferule
FER'ULE, noun [Latin ferula, from ferio, to strike, or from the use of stalks of the Ferula.]
1. A little wooden pallet or slice, used to punish children in school, by striking them on the palm of the hand. [Ferular is not used.]
2. Under the Eastern empire, the ferula was the emperor's scepter. It was a long stem or shank, with a flat square head.
FER'ULE, verb transitive To punish with a ferule