noun
rosary
ROH-zuh-ree/ˈrəʊzəri/
A string of beads used to count Catholic devotional prayers.
The rosary forms a loop of prayer beads ending in a crucifix.
Etymology
The rose connection developed through rosarium, a “rose garden,” imagined figuratively as a collection of prayers. The name then passed to the beads used to keep track while reciting those prayers.
In context
… the chaplet is really just the Rosary and what we say on each decade' for the Rosary each bead is a certain prayer …
More examples
- My grandmother keeps a rosary in her purse.
- The priest blesses the rosaries before handing them out.
- He uses a rosary to keep track of his prayers.
Forms
rosary · rosaries
Similar words
- prayer beads
- A broader term covering counting beads in many religious traditions.
- chaplet
- Often denotes beads for shorter or different Catholic prayer sequences.