Meaning

noun one of a pair of mobile appendages on the head of e.g. insects and crustaceans; typically sensitive to touch and taste

noun a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others

noun sensitivity similar to that of a receptor organ

originFrom Middle English feler, feeler, felar, equivalent to feel + -er. Animal organ definition from 1660s. Transferred sense of "proposal put forth to observe the reaction it gets" is from 1830.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0