prayer book
7
2.6
- noun
- /ˈprɛər bʊk/
:
libro de oraciones
- Before bed, she often found comfort in reading from her prayer book.
- Jewish prayer book
- prayer book and rosary
Examples
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We open our prayer books and we turn to page 26.
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Beatrice walks slowly up the torch-lit hall, a prayer book clasped between her hands.
Fiction book (1998) -
A single Church of England with a common prayer book...
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A tall young man turned a page in his little prayer book.
Fiction book (1998) -
Well then, here's a prayer book for you.
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Feigie sat down inside her cradle and took out her prayer book.
Fiction book (1995) -
A Bible or prayer book or hymnal, with a metal clasp for closing.
Academic text (1995) -
Worshippers were handed a uniform prayer book, and men were often requested to wear identical silk-lined skull caps.
Academic text (1990) -
The Serenissima was a fifteenth-century prayer book adorned with gold leaf, semiprecious stones, and lots of bright enamel.
Fiction book (2001) -
During the service, everyone recited the prayers from their prayer book.
Synonyms
1
7.8
An official service book used in Church of England worship with formal and beautiful language
1
5.2
A book with prayers people say during religious services
A book of prayers and rites a priest uses during Mass and other church services
A book that has the words and forms used in religious ceremonies
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a book containing a collection of prayers' is directly compositional from 'prayer' (a set prayer text) + 'book' (a bound set of pages), following a common noun+noun compounding pattern. This is a cross-linguistically common construction (e.g., libro de oraciones, livre de prières) and a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Prayer book comes from the simple idea of a book full of prayers that people kept to read in church or at home long ago. So, today it means 'a book containing a collection of prayers'.