Definition
Plural of beadle; parish officials responsible for maintaining order, punishing minor offenses, and summoning people to church or court.
Etymology
From Middle English beadle, via Old French bedel and Late Latin bedellus. The 's' ending is the standard English plural. Beadles existed across England for centuries as local enforcers of parish rules.
Kelly Says
Beadles appear constantly in literature from Chaucer through Dickens because they were real, visible figures of minor authority that everyone encountered—they're kind of the original neighborhood police, complete with all the absurd power dynamics that creates.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
beadles
bee-adl-es
ARالعربية
beadles
bee-adl-es
BNবাংলা
beadles
bee-adl-es
CACatalà
beadles
bee-adl-es
CSČeština
beadles
bee-adl-es
DADansk
beadles
bee-adl-es
DEDeutsch
beadles
bee-adl-es
ELΕλληνικά
beadles
bee-adl-es
ESEspañol
beadles
bee-adl-es
FAفارسی
beadles
bee-adl-es
FISuomi
beadles
bee-adl-es
FRFrançais
beadles
bee-adl-es
HEעברית
beadles
bee-adl-es
HIहिन्दी
beadles
bee-adl-es
HUMagyar
beadles
bee-adl-es
IDBahasa Indonesia
beadles
bee-adl-es
ITItaliano
beadles
bee-adl-es
MSBahasa Melayu
beadles
bee-adl-es
MYမြန်မာ
beadles
bee-adl-es
NLNederlands
beadles
bee-adl-es
NONorsk
beadles
bee-adl-es
PLPolski
beadles
bee-adl-es
PTPortuguês
beadles
bee-adl-es
RORomână
beadles
bee-adl-es
RUРусский
beadles
bee-adl-es
SVSvenska
beadles
bee-adl-es
SWKiswahili
beadles
bee-adl-es
TAதமிழ்
beadles
bee-adl-es
TEతెలుగు
beadles
bee-adl-es
TRTürkçe
beadles
bee-adl-es
UKУкраїнська
beadles
bee-adl-es
URاردو
beadles
bee-adl-es
VITiếng Việt
beadles
bee-adl-es
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Plural reiterates historical male-only occupational class in parishes and municipal governance across centuries.
Inclusive Usage
Use for historical accuracy; specify 'male beadles' if disambiguating from women's unrecorded similar labor.
Inclusive Alternatives
["parish officers"]