beadle
(noun) a minor parish official who serves a ceremonial function
Beadle, George Beadle, George Wells Beadle
(noun) United States biologist who discovered how hereditary characteristics are transmitted by genes (1903-1989)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Beadle
A surname for a court official.
• Bedale, bealed, bedeal, belead
beadle (plural beadles)
a parish constable, a uniformed minor (lay) official, who ushers and keeps order
(Scotland, ecclesiastic) an attendant to the minister
a warrant officer
• Bedale, bealed, bedeal, belead
Source: Wiktionary
Bea"dle, n. Etym: [OE. bedel, bidel, budel, OF. bedel, F. bedeau, fr. OHG. butil, putil, G. bĂĽttel, fr. OHG. biotan, G. bieten, to bid, confused with AS. bydel, the same word as OHG. butil. See. Bid, v.]
1. A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer; -- called also an apparitor or summoner.
2. An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students. [Eng.]
Note: In this sense the archaic spellings bedel (Oxford) and bedell (Cambridge) are preserved.
3. An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties, as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of petty offenders, etc.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
29 May 2025
(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
