Ferly

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A remarkable wonder that astonishes onlookers ; something odd and surprising to behold ; to be amazed or to stand in wonder at something
2. An extraordinary marvel that causes awe ; describing something strange and astonishing in appearance ; to gaze in wonder or marvel at a thing
3. Something wondrous that inspires amazement ; having an uncanny, startling quality ; to express wonder or be struck with astonishment over something

Etymology: "Ferly" is a Scots and northern English word meaning a marvel or wonder, or (as a verb) to marvel or be amazed. It was once common in the Middle English of northern England and Scotland, where it appears in medieval romances and in the epic poem "Wallace" and later in Robert Burns, and it survives in dialect use. Its ancestry is Old English "fǣrlīc", meaning sudden or frightening, from "fǣr", a sudden danger or calamity, combined with the adjective-forming suffix "-līc", the ancestor of modern "-ly". The notable shift here is that the word's earliest sense leaned toward alarm rather than admiration. A "fǣr" was a sudden peril, so a "fǣrlīc" thing was something that struck with fright, and the sense of astonishment came later as the surprise of a startling event softened into wonder. The same Old English root gave rise to "fear", which had at first meant danger or sudden harm before narrowing to the emotion we know now.

Synonyms: marvel, wonder, miracle, prodigy, phenomenon