fers

noun

1. (historical)The medieval chess piece that developed into the modern queen.

   “With their introduction the fers and the alfil disappeared from European chess.”

   “In the Chronique of Philip Mouskat (a.d. 1243), lines 23617–20, is a reference to a king of Fierges, indicating that a fers could be promoted to a king at this early period.”

   “This fers mates him in straight lines; this fers mates him at an angle.”

2. A fairy chess piece that moves one square diagonally.

   “In Monochromatic chess moves are only allowed between cells of the same colour. Thus the kings are reduced to ferses, the rooks to dabbabariders, and the knights to dummies. […] Another type of rider is the Mao which is the knight in Chinese chess. It makes its move in two steps, a noncapturing wazir move followed by a fers move, so the cell moved through must be vacant. The Moa (W.Speckman) is a knight that moves as fers followed by wazir.”

name

1. (US, initialism)Federal Employees Retirement System.