Nearby Words
noun
1.
a parish officer having various subordinate duties, as keeping order during services, waiting on the rector, etc.
2.
sexton (def. 2).
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English bedel, dial. (SE) variant of bidel, Old English bydel apparitor, herald (cognate with German Büttel), equivalent to bud- (weak stem of bēodan to command) + -il noun suffix
before 1000; Middle English bedel, dial. (SE) variant of bidel, Old English bydel apparitor, herald (cognate with German Büttel), equivalent to bud- (weak stem of bēodan to command) + -il noun suffix
Related forms
sub·bea·dle, noun
un·der·bea·dle, noun
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Beadle
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Example Sentences
- Beadle said she believed that the girl had been adopted by her grandparents.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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|
Link To beadle
Collins
World English Dictionary
| beadle (ˈbiːdəl) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (formerly, in the Church of England) a minor parish official who acted as an usher and kept order |
| 2. | (in Scotland) a church official attending on the minister |
| 3. | Judaism See also shammes a synagogue attendant |
| 4. | an official in certain British universities and other institutions |
| [Old English bydel; related to Old High German butil bailiff] | |
| 'beadleship | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
beadle
O.E. bydel "herald, messenger from an authority," from beodan "to proclaim" (see bid). Sense of "warrant officer, tipstaff" was in late O.E.; that of "petty parish officer," which has given the job a bad reputation, is from 1590s. French bédeau (O.Fr. bedel, 12c.) is a Germanic loan-word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
Beadle Bea·dle (bēd'l), George Wells. 1903-1989.
American biologist. He shared a 1958 Nobel Prize for discovering how genes transmit hereditary characteristics.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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