beadsman

American  

[beedz-muhn] / ˈbidz mən /

noun

Archaic.

plural

beadsmen

1. a person who prays for another as a duty, especially when paid.

2. an inmate of a poorhouse; almsman.

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beadsman British  

/ ˈbiːdzmən /

noun

1. a person who prays for another's soul, esp one paid or fed for doing so

2. a person kept in an almshouse

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Etymology

Origin of beadsman

1200–50; bead's man man of prayer; replacing Middle English bedeman. See bead, 's ¹, man

Example Sentences

One of a class of paupers or pensioners, or licensed beggars, in Scotland, to whim annually on the king's birthday were distributed certain alms, including a blue gown; a beadsman.

From Project Gutenberg

Goddess! vouchsafe this aged man his right, To be your beadsman now that Was your knight.”

From Project Gutenberg

The monuments in the aisle are brought before us, not by any effort of description, but solely through 400 our sympathy with the shivering fancy of the beadsman:—

From Project Gutenberg

Overcome with the pressure of awe, he sat bound to his stone-seat, and turned his eye on the face of the beadsman, where he found an expression very different from what he expected.

From Project Gutenberg

And so he wore a large blue gown, like that of a beadsman, which slipped over his head, and was bound by a belt round his middle, with a stout woollen shirt underneath.

From Project Gutenberg