Asafetida \As`a*fet"i*da\, Asafoetida \As`a*f[oe]t"i*da\, n. [Asa + L. foetidus fetid.] The fetid gum resin or inspissated juice of a large umbelliferous plant ({Ferula asafoetida}) of Persia and the East Indies. It is used in medicine as an antispasmodic. [Written also {assafoetida}.] [1913 Webster]
Ferulic \Fe*ru"lic\, a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, asafetida ({Ferula asaf[oe]tida}); as, ferulic acid. [Written also {ferulaic}.] [1913 Webster]
Ferula \Fer"u*la\, n. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. {Ferule}.] 1. A ferule. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster] 2. The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire. [1913 Webster] 3. [capitalized] A genus of plants of the parsley family {Apiaceae} (of the order {Umbelliferae}), including some yielding {asafetida}. Members include {Ferula asafoetida} ({Ferula foetida}), the giant fennel ({Ferula communis)}, and {Ferula orientalis}. [PJC]