fescue

Definition

A straw, wire, stick, etc., used chiefly to point out letters to children when learning to read.

Etymology

From Old French festu (modern fétu), from Proto-Romance festu, from Latin festūca (“stalk, stem, straw”).

Example Sentences

• "to come under the fescue of an imprimatur"
• "‘Now then,’ Mason rapping upon the Table’s Edge with a sinister-looking Fescue of Ebony, whose List of Uses simple Indication does not quite exhaust, whilst the Girls squirm pleasingly"
• "with thy golden fescue play'dst upon Thy hollow harp"