prayer rug
2
2.9
- noun
- /ˈprɛər rʌg/
:
alfombra de oración
- Aslan folds his prayer rug and walks over to Robin, who sits alone, staring vacantly into the darkness.
- Turkish prayer rug
- green prayer rug
- small prayer rug
Examples
-
I watched travelers, their bodies blurred by dust, spreading prayer rugs on the sand and praying prostrate before Mecca.
Academic text (2002) -
She held back a few things: portraits my father had painted, a sandalwood carving, a brass-topped table, and a small prayer rug.
Fiction book (1995) -
On the floor was a prayer rug; on a card table were dominoes and a newspaper.
Fiction book (1992) -
A niche design in the middle of a Muslim prayer rug pointed toward Mecca during worship.
Blog text (17) -
A storage room at the chapel keeps prayer rugs that Muslim followers roll out facing east toward the city of Mecca.
Blog text (9) -
She made some beautiful prayer rugs, which she presented to the Sidi Saheb, or Mosque of the Barber.
Blog text (6) -
As the sun set, she spread her prayer rug on the ground to pray in peace.
-
The faithful gathered in the mosque, each bringing their own prayer rug for worship.
-
He carefully positioned his prayer rug facing Mecca before beginning the ceremony.
Synonyms
2
2.5
A small rug Muslims kneel on when they pray
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'prayer' (an act of devotional communication) + 'rug' (a floor covering); a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer it is a rug used for prayer. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common noun + noun composition (e.g., 'alfombra de oración', 'tapis de prière'), so the phrase is transparent despite its specific cultural use.
Etymology
Prayer rug is a small special rug made for prayer. Imagine someone unrolling it to make a clean place to kneel and face one direction, and that's why the term means 'a small carpet used by Muslims to kneel on during their prayers'.