beadle

[ˈbiːdəɫ]

/[ˈbiːdəɫ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"beadle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beadle” is uncommon English (frequency #52,173 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,173
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A parish constable, a uniformed minor (lay) official, who ushers and keeps order.

Corpus desk

Index EN-beadle · beadle · English

beadle · rank #52,173 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,173
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beautify

Nearest frequency peer: beautify (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “beadle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “beadle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for beadle
PropertyValue
Headwordbeadle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈbiːdəɫ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#52,173
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “beadle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).beadlefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “beautify” (#52,174), “Bayes” (#52,171), “beckoned” (#52,175). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “beadle” is #52,173. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

beadle is uncommon English at frequency #52,173 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈbiːdəɫ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

beadle doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bedel, bidel, from Old English bydel (“warrant officer, apparitor”), from Proto-West Germanic *budil, from Proto-Germanic *budilaz (“herald”), equivalent to bid + -le. Cognate with Dutch beul, German Büttel. More at bid. The correct English form is beadle, spelled B-E-A-D-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A parish constable, a uniformed minor (lay) official, who ushers and keeps order.
  2. 2
    An attendant to the minister.
  3. 3
    A warrant officer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how beadle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Twas on a holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean, The children walking two and two in red and blue and green: Grey-headed beadles walked before, with wands as white as snow, Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames waters flow.
  2. The beadle […] generally understood in the neighbourhood to be a ridiculous institution […] The policeman considers him an imbecile civilian, a remnant of the barbarous watchmen times, but gives him admission as something that must be borne with until government shall abolish him.

Etymology

From Middle English bedel, bidel, from Old English bydel (“warrant officer, apparitor”), from Proto-West Germanic *budil, from Proto-Germanic *budilaz (“herald”), equivalent to bid + -le. Cognate with Dutch beul, German Büttel. More at bid.

This word in other languages

bedeau(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "beadle"?
"beadle" is spelled B-E-A-D-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbiːdəɫ].
What does "beadle" mean?
As a noun, "beadle" means: A parish constable, a uniformed minor (lay) official, who ushers and keeps order.
How do you pronounce "beadle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beadle" is [ˈbiːdəɫ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "beadle"?
From Middle English bedel, bidel, from Old English bydel (“warrant officer, apparitor”), from Proto-West Germanic *budil, from Proto-Germanic *budilaz (“herald”), equivalent to bid + -le. Cognate with Dutch beul, German Büttel. More at bid. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "beadle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bangle#52,169beheld#52,177bifida#52,182blocky#52,184

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list