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rosary

rosary

43 7.0
A string of beads used to count prayers or the prayers said with them
  • noun
  • /ˈroʊzəri/
translation icon : rosario
  • And in the spring when they're very small, they feel like beads, and I say my rosary while I work.
  • rosary beads
  • pray the rosary
  • say the rosary

If you trust the government, save dollars and take laps on your rosary beads and pray.

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Examples

  • Our own closer inspection reveals that her rosary beads sit unused at her feet on the floor.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Oh, yeah, hand me my rosary beads.

  • I leave Mother in the car saying her rosary and buy five.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And what time's the rosary?

  • We did not come all this way to hear rosaries, Father.

  • You've got to pray the rosary with us.

  • What a bother it was that she'd left her rosary in Charleston.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Her eyes traveled from the rosary beads up along the white bedspread.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Boys went to school, rosaries around their necks, chanting prayers to the Lady.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The priest led the congregation in reciting the rosary after the evening mass.

Synonyms

prayer beads
vsrosary
3 3.5

A string of small round objects that people use to count religious words

is specific to Catholic devotion and includes the prayers recited with it
mala
vsrosary
1 9.7

A string of beads used to count prayers often in Hinduism or Buddhism

is used in Catholic devotion for set prayers rather than mantras

How Many

rosary
43 7.0
beads
1 1.0
bead
14 4.1

Surface Forms

rosary singular
rosaries plural

Etymology

Rosary comes from the Latin rosarium, which means 'rose-garden' or 'bunch of roses', because people thought of each prayer as a little 'rose' offered to Mary. So, a rosary is a string of beads you count like a row of small 'roses', and that is why it helps people keep track of their prayers.