rosary

rosary
rosary (n.) mid-15c., "rose garden," from L. rosarium "rose garden," from neut. of rosarius "of roses," from rosa "rose" (see ROSE (Cf. rose)). The sense of "series of prayers" is 1540s, 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 animae "prayerbook," lit. "little garden of the soul"). Sense transferred 1590s to the strings of beads used as a memory aid in reciting the rosary.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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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. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rosary — rosary, rosery A rosary is a set of prayer beads, and is also used to mean a rose garden alongside the newer (19c) form rosery, although rose garden is now the usual term …   Modern English usage

  • rosary — [rō′zər ē] n. pl. rosaries [ME rosarie < L rosarium, rose garden (in ML, rosary, garland of roses) < neut. of rosarius, of roses < rosa,ROSE1] 1. R.C.Ch. a) a string of five (sometimes fifteen) sets of beads (one large bead and ten small …   English World dictionary

  • rosary — ► NOUN (pl. rosaries) 1) (in the Roman Catholic Church) a form of devotion in which five (or fifteen) sets of ten Hail Marys are repeated. 2) a string of beads for keeping count in such a devotion or in the devotions of some other religions.… …   English terms dictionary

  • Rosary — This article is about the Catholic Marian devotion. For other forms of the Christian rosary, see Rosary based prayers. For prayer beads in other religions, see Prayer beads. Roman Catholic Mariology A series of articles on Rosary Blesse …   Wikipedia

  • rosary — /roh zeuh ree/, n., pl. rosaries. 1. Rom. Cath. Ch. 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 …   Universalium

  • rosary — ro|sa|ry [ˈrəuzəri US ˈrou ] n plural rosaries [Date: 1400 1500; : Medieval Latin; Origin: rosarium, from Latin, rose garden , from rosa; ROSE1] 1.) a string of ↑beads used by Roman Catholics for counting prayers 2.) the rosary/the Rosary t …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • rosary — [14] Rosary comes from Latin rosārium ‘rose garden’, a derivative of rosa ‘rose’. It was a common conceit in the Middle Ages to name collections of verse or similar short pieces after bunches of flowers (anthology comes from the Greek word for… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • rosary — [[t]ro͟ʊzəri[/t]] rosaries N COUNT A rosary is a string of beads that members of certain religions, especially Catholics, use for counting prayers. A series of prayers counted in this way is also called a rosary. Estrada took a rosary from his… …   English dictionary

  • rosary — UK [ˈrəʊzərɪ] / US [ˈroʊzərɪ] noun [countable] Word forms rosary : singular rosary plural rosaries a) a set of small beads used by Roman Catholics for counting a series of prayers b) the rosary a series of prayers said by Roman Catholics …   English dictionary

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