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rosary - 7 dictionary results
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ro⋅sa⋅ry

  [roh-zuh-ree]
Use rosary in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ries.
1. Roman Catholic Church.
a. a series of prayers, usually consisting of 15 decades of aves, each decade being preceded by a paternoster and followed by a Gloria Patri, one of the mysteries or events in the life of Christ or the Virgin Mary being recalled at each decade.
b. a string of beads used for counting these prayers during their recitation.
c. a similar string of beads consisting of five decades.
2. (among other religious bodies) a string of beads similarly used in praying.
3. a rose garden or a bed of roses.
Origin:
1350–1400 for earlier sense; 1400–50 for sense “rose garden”; 1540–50 for def. 1; ME rosarie < ML rosārium, in all current senses, L: rose garden, equiv. to ros(a) rose 1 + -ārium -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Rosary and Prayer Beads
 Episcopal & Anglican Rosaries Your order is shipped same day!
 www.EpiscopalBookstore.com
Rosary
 Rosaries in Many Colors & Styles From Your Catholic Superstore!
 www.CatholicCompany.com
ro·sa·ry   (rō'zə-rē)   
n.   pl. ro·sa·ries
  1. Roman Catholic Church
    1. A form of devotion to the Virgin Mary, chiefly consisting of three sets of five decades each of the Hail Mary, each decade preceded by the Lord's Prayer and ending with a doxology.
    2. One of these sets of decades.
    3. A string of beads of 5 or 15 decades on which these prayers are counted.
  2. Similar beads used by other religious groups.

[Middle English, rose garden, from Medieval Latin rosārium, rose garden, rosary, from Latin, rose garden, from neuter of rosārius, of roses, from rosa, rose.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rosary
Spanish: rosario,
German: der Rosenkranz,
Japanese: ロザリオ
More Translations »

rosary

A set of prayers common in the Roman Catholic Church, said during meditation on events in the lives of Jesus and of Mary, the mother of Jesus. A rosary is also the string of beads that the worshiper uses to count the prayers.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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rosary 
c.1440, "rose garden," from L. rosarium "rose garden," from neut. of rosarius "of roses," from rosa "rose" (see rose). The sense of "series of prayers" is 1547, from M.Fr. rosaire, a figurative use of the word meaning "rose garden," on the notion of a "garden" of prayers. This embodies the medieval conceit of comparing collections to bouquets (cf. anthology and M.L. hortulus animæ, "prayerbook," lit. "little garden of the soul"). Sense transf. 1597 to the strings of beads used as a memory aid in reciting the rosary.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ro·sa·ry
Pronunciation: 'rOz-(&-)rE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ries
: BEADING
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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rosary ro·sa·ry (rō'zə-rē)
n.
An arrangement or structure that is beadlike in appearance.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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