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Added 9 October 2026

bead

/ˈbiːd/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bead at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A small ball with a hole through the middle.
A shape that is spherical and small.
he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops
A beaded molding for edging or decorating furniture.

verb

Form into beads, as of water or sweat, for example.
Decorate by sewing beads onto.
bead the wedding gown
String together like beads.

Origin

From Middle English bede (“a prayer”), also “a bead for counting prayers” in a peire of bedes (literally “a pair of beads”), from Old English bedu, bed, ġebed (“a request, entreaty, prayer”), from Proto-West Germanic *bedu, *bed, *gabed, from Proto-Germanic *bedō, *bedą. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gebäd (“prayer”), Cimbrian gapéet (“prayer”), Dutch gebed and bede (“prayer”), German Gebet (“prayer”), Low German Gebett (“prayer”), Luxembourgish Gebiet (“prayer”), Vilamovian gybāt (“prayer”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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