## Etymology
From Old English gebed ('prayer'); the sense shifted via 'prayer beads' on a rosary, since one 'told one's beads' (counted prayers), to the small perforated balls themselves.

## AI Etymology
bead comes from Old English gebed ('prayer'); the sense shifted via 'prayer beads' on a rosary, since one 'told one's beads' (counted prayers), to the small perforated balls themselves. The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "a small pierced ball strung as ornament; also a drop of liquid", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as bid and derivatives such as beaded, beading, beady, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Old English gebed, Proto-Germanic *bidą, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

markdown

bead

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

External links

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback