English Explanatory Dictionary

beadsman

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A petitioner; someone who seeks some type of favour from another, usually from a superior.
  2. A man employed in praying; especially one who prays for another.
  3. A poor man, supported in a beadhouse, and required to pray for the soul of its founder; an almsman.
  4. A public almsman; one who received alms from the king, and was expected in return to pray for the royal welfare and that of the state; a licensed beggar.

Pronunciation

/ˈbiːdzmən/

Word forms

beadsman beadsmen bedesman

Etymology

From earlier bedeman, from Middle English bedeman (“a petitioner”), equivalent to bead (“request, petition, prayer”) + -man.

Related words

beadswoman
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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