beadle

noun

bea·​dle ˈbē-dᵊl 

: a minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order at services and sometimes civil functions

Examples of beadle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To the beadles, this is a workplace; to the tourist, an Instagrammable spectacle; to the pilgrim, a place of prayer. —Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023

Robinson, an amiable man in his mid-50s, is a Westminster Abbey beadle. —Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023

The towers were completed in the mid-18th century; a beadle rising in the morning to raise the flag must first climb 315 steps. —Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bedel messenger, from Old English bydel; akin to Old High German butil bailiff, Old English bēodan to command — more at bid entry 1

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above