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prayer beads

[prair]
plural noun
  1. a rosary.
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Origin of prayer beads

First recorded in 1620–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for prayer beads

Historical Examples of prayer beads

  • 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

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

    A Lover in Homespun

    F. Clifford Smith

British Dictionary definitions for prayer beads

prayer beads

pl n
  1. RC Church the beads of the rosary
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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