English · Idiom Historical

to bid one's beads

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To tell off one's prayers by beads. See BEADS. To bid the (marriage) banns. To ask if anyone objects to the marriage of the persons named. "Si quis" (<y.v.).

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to bid one's beads” mean?

To tell off one's prayers by beads. See BEADS. To bid the (marriage) banns. To ask if anyone objects to the marriage of the persons named. "Si quis" (<y.v.).

Is “to bid one's beads” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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