BEAD

bead

(noun) a small ball with a hole through the middle

beading, bead, beadwork, astragal

(noun) a beaded molding for edging or decorating furniture

drop, bead, pearl

(noun) a shape that is spherical and small; “he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops”; “beads of sweat on his forehead”

bead

(verb) string together like beads

bead

(verb) decorate by sewing beads onto; “bead the wedding gown”

bead

(verb) form into beads, as of water or sweat, for example

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

bead (plural beads)

(archaic) Prayer, later especially with a rosary. [from 9thc.]

Each in a string of small balls making up the rosary or paternoster. [from 14thc.]

A small round object.

A small round object with a hole to allow it to be threaded on a cord or wire. [from 15thc.]

A small round solid object.

A small drop of water or other liquid. [from 16thc.]

A bubble, in spirits.

A small round ball at the end of a barrel of a gun used for aiming.

(heading) A ridge, band, or molding.

A rigid edge of a tire that mounts it on a wheel; tire bead. [from 20thc.]

(architecture) A narrow molding with semicircular section.

Knowledge sufficient to direct one's activities to a purpose.

(chemistry, dated) A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc, before the blowpipe.

Front sight of a gun.

Verb

bead (third-person singular simple present beads, present participle beading, simple past and past participle beaded)

(intransitive) To form into a bead.

(transitive) To apply beads to.

(transitive) To form into a bead.

(transitive) To cause beads to form on (something).

Anagrams

• Abed, abed, adeb, bade, baed

Source: Wiktionary


Bead, n. Etym: [OE. bede prayer, prayer bead, AS. bed, gebed, prayer; akin to D. bede, G. bitte, AS. biddan, to ask, bid, G. bitten to ask, and perh. to Gr. to persuade, L. fidere to trust. Beads are used by the Roman Catholics to count their prayers, one bead being dropped down a string every time a prayer is said. Cf. Sp. cuenta bead, fr. contar to count. See Bid, in to bid beads, and Bide.]

1. A prayer. [Obs.]

2. A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.

3. Any small globular body; as, (a) A bubble in spirits. (b) A drop of sweat or other liquid. "Cold beads of midnight dew." Wordsworth. (c) A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim). (d) (Arch.) A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments. (e) (Chem.) A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the borax bead; the iron bead, etc. Bead and butt (Carp.), framing in which the panels are flush, having beads stuck or run upon the two edges. Knight.

– Beat mold, a species of fungus or mold, the stems of which consist of single cells loosely jointed together so as to resemble a string of beads. [Written also bead mould.] -- Bead tool, a cutting tool, having an edge curved so as to make beads or beading.

– Bead tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Melia, the best known species of which (M. azedarach), has blue flowers which are very fragrant, and berries which are poisonous.

Bead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Beading.]

Definition: To ornament with beads or beading.

Bead, v. i.

Definition: To form beadlike bubbles.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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