Link Centre Dictionary

beadle

UK/ˈbiːdəl/ US/ˈbɪi̯dəl] ~ [ˈbɪi̯dl̩/ uncommon

noun

1.

a minor parish official who serves as an usher and preserves order at services

2.

United States biologist who discovered how hereditary characteristics are transmitted by genes (1903-1989)

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English bedel, bidel, from Old English bydel (“warrant officer, apparitor”), from Proto-West Germanic *budil, from Proto-Germanic *budilaz (“herald”), equivalent to bid + -le. Cognate with Dutch beul, German Büttel. More at bid.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.