Dictionary.com
definitions

prayer beads

[ prair ]
/ prɛər /
|

plural noun

a rosary.

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Nearby words

  1. praxis,
  2. praxiteles,
  3. pray,
  4. pray-in,
  5. prayer,
  6. prayer book,
  7. prayer flag,
  8. prayer meeting,
  9. prayer of manasses,
  10. prayer plant

Origin of prayer beads

First recorded in 1620–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for prayer beads

  • Baptiste, prayer-beads in hand, knelt by his son's side, saying prayers for the dying.

    A Lover in Homespun|F. Clifford Smith

  • He sidled close to Abdulla, and brushed with a delicate touch the hand that hung down listlessly, holding the prayer-beads.

    An Outcast of the Islands|Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for prayer beads

prayer beads

/ (prɛə) /

pl n

RC Church the beads of the rosary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012