Meaning and Origin
What does the name Rosary mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Rosary
User Submitted Origins
Latin
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User Submitted Meanings
- A submission from Texas, U.S. says the name Rosary means "Ring of roses".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Ro"sa*ry
Senses
- A bed of roses, or place where roses grow."Thick rosariesof scented thorn." [Tennyson.]
- [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.]
- 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.]
- A coin bearing the figure of a rose, fraudulently circulated in Ireland in the 13th century for a penny.
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.
Etymology: LL. rosarium a string of beads, L. rosarium a place planted with roses, rosa a rose: cf. F. rosaire. See Rose
Other Dictionary Sources
- A string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)
Wiktionary
From Latin rosārium, here in its sense as a garland of roses. The coin usage referred to the laurel wreath appearing on the obverse bust, as opposed to the bare head on the pollard.
- Prayer beads, a string of beads used to keep track of repetitions in prayer, particularly in the Roman Catholic Marian prayer "Hail Mary" (Ave Maria)
- A Roman Catholic devotion involving the repetition of a series of Marian prayers, usually 5, 15, or 20 decades of "Hail Marys", each decade beginning with "Our Father" and ending with "Glory Be to the Father", but sometimes including other Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran prayers.
- (by extension) A series or collection of thoughts, literary pieces, etc. intended for similar contemplation.
- (historical numismatics) A 13th-century coin minted in Europe as a counterfeit debased form of the sterling silver penny of Edward I, at first accepted as a halfpenny and then outlawed.
- A rose garden.