beadhook 
beadhookt (bed'huk), . [Early mod. E. also 
heedhook (uaut.), corruptly bid/took; < bead (un- 
certain) + hook.'] A kind of boat-hook. 
2d Le. Arm 'd men? with drum and colours? 
Se. No, my lord, 
But bright in arms, yet bear half pikes or beadhooks. 
(.'hnt'titan, Csesar and Pompey, v. 1. 
beadhouse (bed'hous), . [Also archaically 
bedehouse, north, dial, beadus (not found in 
ME.), < AS. bedims, < bedu, prayer, + Juts, 
house : see bead and liouse.] Formerly, a hos- 
pital or an almshouse for the founders and 
benefactors of which prayers were required to 
be said by the beneficiaries. Also spelled bede- 
house. 
beadiuess (be'di-nes), n. The quality of being 
beady. 
beading (be'ding), . [< bead + -ing^.] 1. In 
arch, and joinery, a bead ; collectively, the beads 
used in ornamenting a given structure or sur- 
face. 2. In bookbinding, see bead, n., 10. 3. 
In com., a preparation added to weak spiritu- 
ous liquors to cause them to carry a bead, and 
to hang in pearly drops about the sides of the 
bottle or glass when poured out or shaken, it 
being a popular notion that spirit is strong in 
proportion as it shows such globules. A very 
small quantity of oil of vitriol or oil of almonds mixed 
with rectified spirit is often used for this purpose. 
beadle (be'dl), n. [Early mod. E. also bedle, 
beedle(Se. beddal), < ME. bedel, bidel,biidel (with 
accent on first syllable), < AS. bydel (=D. bcul 
486 
shaking will stand for some time on the sur- 
face : said of spirituous liquors, and errone- 
ously supposed to indicate strength. 2. Of a 
certain standard of strength as ascertained by 
beads. See bead_, n., 7. 
bead-roll (bed'rol), n. [< lead, a prayer, + 
roll, a list.] 1. A list of prayers ; specifically, 
before the Reformation, the list of the persons 
and objects for which prayers were said, read 
out by the preacher before the sermon, in "an 
order [of Henry VIII., A. i>. 1534] taken for preaching and 
bidding of the beads, in all sermons to tie made within this 
realm," mention is made of the church catholic, especially 
in England, of the king and royal family, of the bishops 
and clergy, of the nobility and entire temporally (laity) of 
the kingdom, particularly of such as the preacher's devo- 
tion may prompt him to name, and of the souls of the 
faithful departed. The bead-roll was prohibited by Ed- 
ward VI. in 1548. It has often been supposed by later 
writers to have had something to do with the recital of 
the beads or rosary. 
2. Figuratively, any list or catalogue ; a long 
series. 
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefyled, 
On Barnes eternall beadroli worthie to be fyled. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. ii. 32. 
Neither is the Scripture without a pitiful beadrow of 
miserable torments. 
Bullinyer's Decade*, 1587 (trans. Parker Soc.). 
The bead-roll of her vicious tricks. Prior, Alma, iii. 
3. A rosary. 4. [< bead, a dot, + roll, a cyl- 
inder.] In bookbindinfi, a brass roll with the 
edge cut in dots or beads, used in gilding. 
Also called bead-row. 
= OHG. butil, MHG. biitel, G. biittel), a beadle, bead-sight (bed'sit), n. A sight on a firearm 
< beodan, announce, command, bid: see bid. consisting of a small round bead on a thin 
The word merged in ME. with bedel, bedell, stem, placed in the line of sight at the end of 
with accent on the last syllable (whence the the barrel. Sometimes a small ring or perfo- 
mod. forms bedel, bedell), < OF. bedel, mod. F. rated bead is used, forming an open bead-sight, 
bedeaii = Pr. Sp. Pg. bedel = It. bidello (ML. beadsman (bedz'man), n. ; pi. beadsmen (-men). 
bedellus, bidellns), from Teut. The reg. mod. [Also bedesman, earlier bedeman, < ME. bede- 
form from ME. bidel, < AS. bydel, would be 
mod. biddle; it so exists in the proper name 
Biddle.] If. One who makes proclamation; 
a herald. 2. A crier or messenger of a court; 
a servitor; one who cites persons to appear and 
answer. [Rare.] 3. In universities, a sub- 
altern official or servant, properly and usually 
termed a bedel (which see). 
It shall be the duty of the faculty to appoint a college 
beadle, who shall direct the procession on Commencement 
day, and preserve order during the exhibitions. 
Laws of Yale College, 1837. 
4. In England, a parish officer having various 
subordinate duties, such as keeping order in 
church, punishing petty offenders, waiting on 
the clergyman, attending meetings of vestry or 
session, etc. 
And I, forsooth, in love ! I, that have been love's whip ; 
A very beadle to a humorous sigh, 
A critic ; nay, a night-watch constable. 
Shak., L. L. L., iii. 1. 
Bread and a slavish ease, with some assurance 
From the base beadle's whip, crown'd all thy hopes. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, v. 3. 
5. The apparitor of a trades guild or company. 
Also spelled bedell and bedel, in senses 2 
and 3. 
beadledom (be'dl-dum), n. [< beadle + -dom.~\ 
Beadles collectively, and their characteristics 
as a class ; stupid officiousness. 
beadleism (be'dl-izm), n. [< beadle + -ism.] 
man, <, bede, a prayer (see bead), T man.] 1. A 
man employed in praying ; especially, one who 
prays for another. In this sense the word was used 
in former times at the conclusion of petitions or letters to 
great men, as we now use "servant " or "humble servant." 
Whereby ye shall bind me to be your poor beadsman 
for ever unto almighty God. Fuller. 
We your most humble subjects, daily orators, and beads- 
men, of your Clergy of England. 
Quoted in Jt. W. Dixon's Hist. Church of Eng., ii. 
2. In England, a man who resides in a bead- 
house or almshouse, or is supported from its 
funds. 
In all our old English foundations for the sick, the old, 
and destitute, the beads that is to say, prayers for bene- 
factors living and dead were said every day by the in- 
mates, who were hence also called beadsmen. 
Quoted in Rock's Church of our Fathers, III. i. 136, note. 
3. Formerly, in Scotland, a public almsman; 
one who received alms from the king, and was 
expected in return to pray for the royal wel- 
fare and that of the state ; a privileged or li- 
censed beggar. In this sense usually spelled 
bedesman. 
A long blue gown, with a pewter badge on the right 
arm ; two or three wallets for holding the different kinds 
of meal, when he received his charity ; . . . all these at 
once marked a beggar by profession, and one of that privi- 
leged class which are called in Scotland the King's bedes- 
men, or, vulgarly, Blue-gowns. Scott, Antiquary, I. Iv. 
4f. A petitioner. 
FRare 1 
beadlerr (be'dl-ri), . [< beadle + -ry.] 
office or jurisdiction of a beadle 
beadleship (be'dl-ship), n. [< beadle + -ship.] 
The office of beadle. , 
bead-loom (bed'lom),. A gauze-loom for mak- beadswoman (bedz _wum"an), n.; pi. beads- 
ing beadwork, the threads used being strung 
with beads. 
beadman (bed'man), n. ; pi. beadmen (-men). 
" 
[< ME. 6e<te)a,< 6e<fc, bead, a prayer, -t- man.] 
The original form of beadsman. 
women (-wim"en). [Also T>edesicoman, earlier 
bedewoman, < ME. bede, a prayer, + woman. 
Cf. beadsman.] 1. A praying woman: some- 
times used as an equivalent to "humble ser- 
vant." See beadsman. 
Honour done to your poor beadswoman. 
B. Jmusun, Sad Shepherd, ii. 6. 
My humblest service to his grace, 
I am his beads-woman. 
Shirley, Grateful Servant, iii. 1. 
They lade the lips of their beadmen, or chaplains, with 
so many masses. Tyndale. 
Having thus owned the continuing sovereignty of the 
king, before whom they presented themselves as bedemen. 
Bancroft. Hist. U. S., V. 12. ^ T TI i 
bead-mold (bed-mold), n. A name given to 2 ^England, a woman who resides man alms- 
" 0fU bead-tool (bed'tol), . 1. A turning-tool which 
has its cutting face ground to a concave curve, 
so * jt mav produce a convex molding when 
applied to the work. 2. In seal-engraving, a 
, 
and are found on various vegetable kinds of food and 
other substances, causing decay. . . , 
bead-molding (bed'moF'ding), n. In arch., tool with an end adapted for cutting the balls 
same as bead, 9. and beads of coronets and other designs. 
bead-plane (bed'plan), . A form of plane used bead-tree (bed'tre), n. 1. The Melia Azeda- 
tor cutting a bead. The cutting edge of the plane-iron rach, natural order MeUaeece. Its nuts are used for 
th^re el uired C in<rtdi i " diameter equal to the <liameter < thf! beads of rosaries, especially in Spain and Portugal. 
bead-proof (bed'prof), a. 1. Of such a nature 2. The name in Jamaica of a leguminous tim- 
er quality that a crown of bubbles formed by ber-tree, Ormosia dasycarpa, with red globose 
beak 
seeds. Black bead-tree, of Jamaica, Pithecolobium 
Unffuin-cati. 
beadwork (bed'werk), . 1. Ornamental work 
formed of beads by embroidering, crocheting, 
etc. 2. la joinery, beading (which see). 
beady (be'di), a. [<bcad+ -yl.] 1. Bead-like; 
small, round, and glittering: applied especially 
to eyes. 
Miss Crawley could not look without seeing Mr. Bute's 
beady eyes eagerly fixed on her. 
Thackeray, Vanity Fair, I. xix. 
The titmouse turns his beady eye 
Upon me as I wander by. 
Joel Benton, December Woods. 
2. Covered with or full of beads ; having a 
bead, as ale or other liquor. 
beagle (be'gl), . [Formerly beyele, begle ; < 
late ME. begle; origin unknown. The F. bigle 
is from the E.] 1. A small hound, formerly 
kept to hunt hares, now almost superseded by 
the harrier, which is sometimes called by this 
name. The beagle is smaller than the harrier, compactly 
built, smooth-haired, and has pendulous ears. The small- 
est beagles are little larger than lap-dogs. 
To plains with well-breathed beaglei we repair, 
And trace the mazes of the circling hare. 
Pope, Windsor Forest, 1. 121. 
Hence 2. Figuratively, one who makes a 
business of scenting out or hunting down (a 
person or thing); a spy; a bailiff or sheriffs 
officer. 
There beagle* flew 
To haud the souter lads in order. J. Mayne. 
3. A local name for several species of the 
smaller sharks. 
beak 1 (bek), n. [Early mod. E. also beeke, and, 
preserving the orig. short vowel, beck, becke, < 
ME. beeke, beke, bek, bee = D. bek, < OF. bee, F. 
bee = Pr. bee = Sp. Pg. bico = It. becco, < LL. 
beccus, a beak, of Old Celtic (Gaulish) origin ; 
but the mod. Celtic words, Gael, beic, Ir. bee, 
Bret, bek, are from E. or F. The word is no- 
tionally associated with E. peak, peck, pike, and 
pick, q. y.] 1. In zoijl., the rostrum, snout, 
muzzle, jaws, mandibles, or some similar part of 
an animal. Especially (a) In ornith., the honiy bill 
or neb of a bird. ((/) In mammal., the horny jaws of the 
duck-billed members of the genus Platypus, (c) In her- 
pet., the homy jaws of a turtle or other chelonian. (d) In 
iehth., the prolonged snout of sundry fishes, (e) The horny 
jaws of a cephalopod. (/) In entom. : (1) the rostrum or 
snout of a rhynchophorous beetle, or weevil ; (2) the ros- 
trum or sucking mouth of a hemipterous insect ; (3) the 
piercing and suctorial mouth of a mosquito, or other 
blood-sucking fly, consisting of lancet-like mandibles, 
maxillae, and lingua inclosed in the elongated and grooved 
labium. (See cut under mosquito.) This term is also ap- 
plied to any unusual prolongation of the anterior part of 
the head, such as that observed in many Coleoptera and 
Diptera. (ff) In conch. : (1) the umbo or apex of a bivalve 
shell; (2) the prolonged lip of a univalve shell, containing 
the canal. 
2. Anything ending in a point like a beak, 
(a) Naut., a powerful construction of metal, as steel, 
iron, or brass, or of timber sheathed with metal, forming 
The character or peculiarities of beadles; bea- ^ad-snake (bed'snak), . [< bead (in allusion 
dledom. Dickens [Rare.1 to its coloring) + snafre.] A name of the coral- 
mr^ snake, Klnps fulviiis, of the United States. 
bead-stuff (bed'stuf), n. The thin wood out of 
which are formed the headings for cabinet- 
Beaks of Ships. 
x, French ironclad Magenta; 3, Amiral Uupeire (French); 3, 
H. M. S. Dreadnought; 4, H. M. S. Polyphemus (torpedo-ram), a. 
water-line. 
a part of the bow of many war-ships, and extending be- 
low the water-line, for the purpose of striking and break- 
ing in the sides of an enemy's ship. Also called ram 
(which see). For a cut of the beak of an ancient war- 
galley, see acrostolium. (b) The horn of an anvil, (c) In 
farriery, a little shoe about an inch long, turned up and 
fastened in upon the fore part of the hoof, (d) In arch., 
a little pendent fillet with a channel behind it left on the 
edge of a larmier, to form a drip and thus prevent the 
water from trickling down the faces of lower architectural 
members, (e) In hot., a narrowed or prolonged tip. (/) 
In carp., the crooked end of the holdfast of a carpenter's 
tench, (if) The lip or spout of a vessel, as a pitcher, 
through which the contents are poured. (A) In chem., the 
rostrum of an alembic, which conducts the vapor to the 
worm. () The long point of the peculiar boot or shoe 
worn from about 1475 to 1520 ; also, the point of the clog 
worn at the same period, which was often longer than the 
shoe itself. See >//- 1-> '. 
3. A gas-burner having a round smooth hole 
sV of an inch in diameter; a bird's-mouth. 4. 
A beak-iron (which see). 
beak 1 (bek), r. t. [< fteafc 1 , .] In cock-fighting, 
to seize or strike with the beak. 
