rosary

noun

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.

noun

One of these sets of decades.

noun

A string of beads of 5 or 15 decades on which these prayers are counted.

noun

Similar beads used by other religious groups.

noun

A rose-garden.

noun

A rose-bush.

noun

A garland of roses; any garland; a chaplet.

noun

Hence, an anthology; a book culled from various authors, like a garland of flowers: formerly often given as a title to works of such a character.

noun

A string of beads carried about the person, either for mere pastime, as to occupy the fingers, or for reckoning, especially in numbering the prayers offered up at fixed times of the day.