Beadle

·v An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students.

II. Beadle ·v A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer;

— called also an apparitor or summoner.

III. Beadle ·v An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties, as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of petty offenders, ·etc.