ro·sa·ry

(rō′zə-rē)

n. pl. ro·sa·ries

1. Roman Catholic Church

a. 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.

b. One of these sets of decades.

c. 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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rosary

(ˈrəʊzərɪ)

n, pl -saries

1. (Roman Catholic Church) RC Church

a. a series of prayers counted on a string of beads, usually consisting of five or 15 decades of Aves, each decade beginning with a Paternoster and ending with a Gloria

b. a string of 55 or 165 beads used to count these prayers as they are recited

2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) (in other religions) a similar string of beads used in praying

3. (Horticulture) a bed or garden of roses

4. an archaic word for garland¹

[C14: from Latin rosārium rose garden, from rosārius of roses, from rosa rose¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ro•sa•ry

(ˈroʊ zə ri)

n., pl. -ries.

1. a series of prayers recited by Roman Catholics as a private devotion, usu. consisting of groups of ten aves preceded by a paternoster and followed by a Gloria Patri, each group being accompanied by meditation on a mystery in the lives of Jesus or Mary.

2. a string of beads used in counting these prayers during their recitation.

3. a similar string used in praying by other religious groups.

[1400–50; late Middle English rosarie rose garden < Medieval Latin rosārium rose garden, rosary, Latin, =ros(a) rose¹ + -ārium -ary]

Rosary

a bed of roses; a string of beads; a chaplet, garland or collection of poems or quotations.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

rosary - a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)

prayer beads

beads, string of beads - several beads threaded together on a string

Translations

سُبْحَه، مَسبَحَه

růženec

rosenkrans

Rosenkranz

chapelet rosaire

krunica

rózsafüzér

talnaband

rosario

rožančius

rosenkrans

ruženec

tesbih

念珠念珠串

rosary

[ˈrəʊzərɪ] N (Rel) → rosario m
to say the/one's rosary → rezar el rosario

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

rosary

[ˈrəʊzəri] n → chapelet m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

rosary

n (Rel) → Rosenkranz m; to say the rosary → den Rosenkranz beten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

rosary

[ˈrəʊzərɪ] n

a. (Rel) → rosario
to say or recite the rosary → dire or recitare il rosario

b. (rose garden) → roseto

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

rosary

(ˈrəuzəri) – plural ˈrosaries – noun

(a string of beads representing) a group of prayers, used by Roman Catholics.

ro·sa·ry

n. rosario, estructura que se asemeja a cuentas enlazadas.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

To me it is a rosary, and as such I should use it like a good catholic," said Esther, eyeing the handsome thing wistfully.

View in context

She arose at daybreak, in order to attend mass, and she worked without interruption until night; then, when dinner was over, the dishes cleared away and the door securely locked, she would bury the log under the ashes and fall asleep in front of the hearth with a rosary in her hand.

View in context

Clara was making a rosary of beads for a little figure of a Sister of Charity, who was to attend the Bunker Hill fair and lend her aid in erecting the Monument.

View in context

I know already that what he chiefly did was to pray and commend himself to God; but what am I to do for a rosary, for I have not got one?"

View in context

Such as the beads of a rosary told by business-like shipowners for the greater profit of the world they slip one by one into the open: while in the offing the inward-bound ships come up singly and in bunches from under the sea horizon closing the mouth of the river between Orfordness and North Foreland.

View in context

At his belt hung a long open-work iron pencase and a wooden rosary such as holy men wear.

View in context

Here I take this great basket, so; here I tie my rosary around the handle, thus; and here I slip the rosary over my head and sling the basket upon my back, in this wise." And Little John did according to his words, the basket hanging down behind him like a peddler's pack; then, giving his staff to one of the maids, and taking a basket upon either arm, he turned his face toward Tuxford Town and stepped forth merrily, a laughing maid on either side, and one walking ahead, carrying the staff.

View in context

The nervous expressive fingers, flashing in and out of the light, might well have been mistaken for the fingers of the devotee going swiftly through decade after decade of his rosary.

View in context

He did not say a word all morning, but sat with his rosary in his hands, praying, now silently, now aloud.

View in context

Anne, who was counting her days like silver beads on a rosary, could not now take the long walk to the lighthouse or up the Glen road.

View in context

It was not until he turned his back upon the jail, and glanced along the empty streets, so lifeless and quiet in the bright morning, that he felt the weight upon his heart; that he knew he was tortured by anxiety for those he had left at home; and that home itself was but another bead in the long rosary of his regrets.

View in context

``If Brian de Bois-Guilbert gain the prize,'' said the Prior, `` I will gage my rosary that I name the Sovereign of Love and Beauty.''

View in context