prayer beads

[prair]

plural noun

1. a rosary.

prayer beads

/ prɛə /

plural noun

1. RC Church the beads of the rosary

Word History and Origins

Origin of prayer beads¹

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

Shrouded in crimson robes, prayer beads moving rhythmically past his fingers, the monk walks towards us.

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"They were not just colleagues but friends", Munther says, nervously running prayer beads through his fingers.

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Sitting atop a lotus, the Hindu goddess of wisdom holds a book, prayer beads and a classical instrument called a veena in her four hands.

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When the megaphone called out for the daily Islamic prayers, the nonbeliever grabbed his prayer beads and ambled through the streets to join others at the mosque in Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest city.

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She would run her fingers along the pointed nubs of the beans — almost like someone would press prayer beads between their fingertips — and stare at the black-eyed Susans coming up in her backyard.

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