ROSARIES

Noun

rosaries

plural of rosary

Source: Wiktionary


ROSARY

Ro"sa*ry, n.; pl. Rosaries. Etym: [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.)

Definition: 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 (Zoöl.), any marine gastropod shell of the genus Monodonta. They are top-shaped, bright-colored and pearly.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 May 2025

DESIRABLE

(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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