beadle

noun

bea·​dle ˈbē-dᵊl How to pronounce beadle (audio)
: a minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order at services and sometimes civil functions

Examples of beadle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
To the beadles, this is a workplace; to the tourist, an Instagrammable spectacle; to the pilgrim, a place of prayer. Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023 Robinson, an amiable man in his mid-50s, is a Westminster Abbey beadle. Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023 The towers were completed in the mid-18th century; a beadle rising in the morning to raise the flag must first climb 315 steps. Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bedel messenger, from Old English bydel; akin to Old High German butil bailiff, Old English bēodan to command — more at bid entry 1

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beadle was in 1581

Dictionary Entries Near beadle

Cite this Entry

“Beadle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beadle. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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