Adjacent Words

Rosary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RO'SARY, n. s as z. [L. rosarium. See Rose.]
1. A bed of roses, or place where roses grow.
2. A chaplet.
3. A string of beads used by Roman catholics, on which they count their prayers.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics) [syn: rosary, prayer beads]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ries) Etymology: Medieval Latin rosarium, from Latin, rose garden, from neuter of rosarius of roses, from rosa rose Date: 1547 1. often capitalized a Roman Catholic devotion consisting of meditation on usually five sacred mysteries during recitation of five decades of Hail Marys of which each begins with an Our Father and ends with a Gloria Patri 2. a string of beads used in counting prayers especially of the Roman Catholic rosary

Britannica Concise

Religious exercise in which prayers are recited and counted on a string of beads or knotted cord, which is also called a rosary. Many of these devices are highly ornamental and incorporate jewels. The practice of using a rosary or "counting beads" occurs widely in world religions, incl. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In Christianity, the most common rosary is that of the Virgin Mary. Its origin is uncertain, but it is associated with St. Dominic and reached its definitive form in the 15th cent.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 RC Ch. a a form of devotion in which five (or fifteen) decades of Hail Marys are repeated, each decade preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be. b a string of 55 (or 165) beads for keeping count in this. c a book containing this devotion. 2 a similar form of bead-string used in other religions. 3 a rose-garden or rose-bed. Etymology: ME f. L rosarium rose-garden, neut. of rosarius (as ROSE(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rosary Ro"sa*ry, n.; pl. Rosaries. [LL. rosarium a string of beads, L. rosarium a place planted with roses, rosa a rose: cf. F. rosaire. See Rose.] 1. A bed of roses, or place where roses grow. ``Thick rosaries of scented thorn.'' --Tennyson. 2. (R.C.Ch.) A series of prayers (see Note below) arranged to be recited in order, on beads; also, a string of beads by which the prayers are counted. His idolized book, and the whole rosary of his prayers. --Milton. Note: A rosary consists of fifteen decades. Each decade contains ten Ave Marias marked by small beads, preceded by a Paternoster, marked by a larger bead, and concluded by a Gloria Patri. Five decades make a chaplet, a third part of the rosary. --Bp. Fitzpatrick. 3. A chapelet; a garland; a series or collection, as of beautiful thoughts or of literary selections. Every day propound to yourself a rosary or chaplet of good works to present to God at night. --Jer. Taylor. 4. A coin bearing the figure of a rose, fraudulently circulated in Ireland in the 13th century for a penny. Rosary shell (Zo["o]l.), any marine gastropod shell of the genus Monodonta. They are top-shaped, bright-colored and pearly.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rosaries) A rosary is a string of beads that members of certain religions, especially Catholics, use for counting prayers. A series of prayers counted in this way is also called a rosary. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Chaplet, garland. 2. Rose-garden, rosery. 3. String of beads for counting prayers.

Moby Thesaurus

Agnus Dei, Angelus, Ave, Ave Maria, Hail Mary, Holy Grail, Host, Kyrie Eleison, Paternoster, Pieta, Sanctus bell, Sangraal, aid prayer, appeal, ark, asperger, asperges, aspergillum, bambino, beadroll, beads, beseechment, bidding prayer, breviary, candle, censer, chaplet, ciborium, collect, communion, contemplation, cross, crucifix, cruet, devotions, entreaty, eucharistial, grace, holy cross, holy water, holy-water sprinkler, icon, impetration, imploration, incensory, intercession, invocation, litany, matzo, meditation, menorah, mezuzah, mikvah, monstrance, obsecration, obtestation, orison, osculatory, ostensorium, paschal candle, pax, petition, phylacteries, prayer, prayer shawl, prayer wheel, pyx, relics, rogation, rood, sacramental, sacred relics, sacring bell, shofar, silent prayer, suit, sukkah, supplication, tabernacle, tallith, thanks, thanksgiving, thurible, urceole, veronica, vigil light, votive candle