Ro·sa·ry n.; pl. Rosaries
1. A bed of roses, or place where roses grow. “Thick rosaries of scented thorn.”
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.
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 Zool., any marine gastropod shell of the genus Monodonta. They are top-shaped, bright-colored and pearly.
◄ ►