Plural of ferrule; small metal or plastic bands used to strengthen and protect the ends of rods, handles, or tubes.
From Old French virole, ultimately from Latin virola, related to ferrum (iron). The modern spelling was influenced by Latin ferrum, connecting the word to iron even though early ferrules weren't always metallic.
Your pencil's ferrule—that metal part holding the eraser on—is the same technology Victorians used to reinforce their elegant canes and swords, showing how simple engineering principles remain useful across centuries.
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