Word Meaning

beadle definition and meaning

v. 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.
v. An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students.
v. 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.