BEGHARD
Etymology
Noun
Beghard (plural Beghards)
(historical) One of an association of religious laymen living in semimonastic communities in imitation of the Beguines, and influenced by Albigensian teachings and by the Brethren of the Free Spirit.
Coordinate terms: Beguin, Beguine
Anagrams
• Gebhard
Source: Wiktionary
Be*ghard" Be*guard", n. Etym: [F. bégard, béguard; cf. G. beghard,
LL. Beghardus, Begihardus, Begardus. Prob. from the root of beguine +
-ard or -hard. See Beguine.] (Eccl. Hist.)
Definition: One of an association of religious laymen living in imitation
of the Beguines. They arose in the thirteenth century, were afterward
subjected to much persecution, and were suppressed by Innocent X. in
1650. Called also Beguins.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition