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#129516 07/05/04 12:34 AM
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you got yourselves two distinct words with unique spellings there folks!

ferrule \fer-ul\ noun [alter. of ME virole, fr. MF, fr. L viriola, dim. of viria bracelet, of Celtic origin; akin to OIr fiar oblique] (1611)
1 : a ring or cap usu. of metal put around a slender shaft (as a cane or a tool handle) to strengthen it or prevent splitting
2 : a usu. metal sleeve used esp. for joining or binding one part to another (as pipe sections or the bristles and handle of a brush)
ferruled adjective

ferule \fer-ul\ also ferula \fer-(y)e-le\ noun [L ferula giant fennel, ferule] (1580)
1 : an instrument (as a flat piece of wood like a ruler) used to punish children
2 : school discipline


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I gotta ask, Helen, because less than 24 hours before you started this thread, I used aglet in a very clever pun:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=130842. was this a coincidence, or were you inspired?



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#129518 07/05/04 08:31 AM
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very clever pun




#129519 07/05/04 02:57 PM
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Nag, n'ag -- let him alone, will ya?

Thank you very much, tsuwm; I was so puzzled, reading Dave's post: I knew that what I was thinking of couldn't possibly be the end of a shoelace (my knowledge of the word coming from having read about a child in school being hit with a ferule). I hadn't known there were two different words. I wonder if ferrule \fer-ul\ noun [alter. of ME virole, fr. MF, fr. L viriola, dim. of viria bracelet, of Celtic origin; akin to OIr fiar oblique] is related to iron? That is, it strikes me (no, not with a hot iron, golf or other type!) that the first ones of these securing bands or even bracelets might have been made of iron.


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no, etaoin, it wasn't n'aglet--it was fresh eggs!

and dr bill pointed out in a PM, that realy fresh eggs, when hardboiled, show the concentric rings of the ablumin that was layed down.. (but the chelaza disappears as the egg is cooked..)

--------------------------------
that's tsuwm, for the info on ferrule/ferule..
given that, a tip of shoe lace could be bound with a ferrule or an aglet..


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I knew the word ferrule from pool cues, where they are used to strengthen the tips. hi musick!
http://www.netpath.net/heads/faq/cueparts.html

I don't think I'd use it to refer to an aglet though.


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I think the link's between ferrule and aglet, through their similar use as "a metal ring or cap placed around a pole or shaft for reinforcement or to prevent splitting" (definition for ferrule) and "a tag or sheath, as of plastic, on the end of a lace, cord, or ribbon to facilitate its passing through eyelet holes" (aglet). The only difference seems to be in the material and the exact function, but the idea's roughly the same.



#129523 07/07/04 02:25 AM
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Ooh, tswum--filet and fillet and now ferule and ferrule!
Will I ever get them right?
Especially when the confused spellcheck told me the word I wanted was "fervent"!!


#129524 07/08/04 03:36 AM
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So is that metal edge on a ruler a ferrule on a ferule?

Almost enough to make me go feral!


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all for one and one feral...



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