Rosary
//ˈɹoʊzəɹi// noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Prayer beads, a string of beads used to keep track of repetitions in prayer, particularly of the Roman Catholic Marian prayer "Hail Mary" (Ave Maria).
- 2 a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics) wordnet
- 3 A Roman Catholic devotion involving the repetition of a series of Marian prayers, usually 5, 15, or 20 decades of "Hail Marys", each decade beginning with "Our Father" and ending with "Glory Be to the Father", but sometimes including other Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran prayers.
- 4 A series or collection of thoughts, literary pieces, etc. intended for similar contemplation. broadly
"Every day propound to yourself a rosary or a chaplet of good works, to present to God at night."
- 5 A 13th-century coin minted in Europe as a counterfeit debased form of the sterling silver penny of Edward I, at first accepted as a halfpenny and then outlawed. historical
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- 6 A rose garden.
Example
More examples"The old woman fingered each bead of her rosary with deep devotion."
Etymology
From Middle English rosarie, from Latin rosārium, here in its sense as a garland of roses. The coin usage referred to the laurel wreath appearing on the obverse bust, as opposed to the bare head on the pollard. Doublet of Rosario and rosarium.
Related phrases
More for "rosary"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.