Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Word of the Day

Blog: Words at Play

Dictionary

ferlie

noun fer·lie \ˈfer-lē\

plural fer·lies

Definition of FERLIE

Scottish

: wonder

Variants of FERLIE

fer·lie also fer·ly \ˈfer-lē\

ADVERTISEMENT

Origin of FERLIE

Middle English, from ferly strange, from Old English fǣrlīc unexpected, from fǣr sudden danger — more at fear

First Known Use: 13th century

Rhymes with FERLIE

barely, fairly, rarely, sparely, squarely

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: ferlingPrevious Word in the Dictionary: ferkAll Words Near: ferlie

ADVERTISEMENT

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up ferlie? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

View Seen & Heard Highlights from Around the Site

Test Your Vocabulary!

10 Charming Words for Nasty People

Put-downs with flair

When "Literally" isn't, well, literal

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

Know what this is?

Test your vocab with our fun, fast game

Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears

Join Us

Merriam-Webster
on Facebook

Merriam-Webster
on Twitter

Bookstore: Digital and Print

Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.

See All

Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries

© Merriam-Webster, Incorporated