Word of the Day

ferly \FER-lee\
noun:
1. Something unusual, strange, or causing wonder or terror.
2. Astonishment; wonder. 
adjective:
1. Unexpected; strange; unusual.

I had had half a thought, at the outset, of telling him about the ferly, my glimpse of the palace. But I couldn't bring myself to it.
-- Clive Staples Lewis and Fritz Eichenberg, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold.

Lord, ye'll have all the folk staring as if we were some ferly.
-- Margaret Oliphant, Kirsteen

Ferly is derived from Old English fǣrlīc meaning fǣr (fear) and -līc (-ly). It was related to the Germangefährlich meaning dangerous.

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