ro|sa|ry

ro|sa|ry «ROH zuhr ee», noun, plural -ries.

1. a string of beads for keeping count in saying a series of prayers: »

The lama…fingered his rosary awhile (Rudyard Kipling).

2. a) a series of prayers consisting of a specified number of Aves (salutations to the Virgin Mary), of paternosters (repetitions of the Lord's Prayer), and of Glorias (or doxologies). b) a string of beads of various sizes representing the same number of Aves, paternosters, and Glorias respectively, used for marking off these prayers.

3. a garden of roses; bed of roses: »

The rosary today displays a marvelous collection of 1,200 different roses (New York Times).

╂[< Medieval Latin rosarium < Latin rosārium rose garden < rosa rose¹]