What is "rosary"

Rosary \Ro"sa*ry\, n.; pl. Rosaries. [LL. rosarium a string of beads, L. rosarium a place planted with roses, rosa a rose: cf. F. rosaire. See Rose.]

1. A bed of roses, or place where roses grow. ``Thick rosaries of scented thorn.''
   --Tennyson.

2. (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.

   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.
   --Bp. Fitzpatrick.

3. 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.

4. A coin bearing the figure of a rose, fraudulently circulated in Ireland in the 13th century for a penny.

   Rosary shell (Zo["o]l.), any marine gastropod shell of the genus Monodonta. They are top-shaped, bright-colored and pearly.

"rose garden," mid-15c., from Latin rosarium "rose garden," in Medieval Latin also "garland; string of beads; series of prayers," from noun use of neuter of rosarius "of roses," from rosa "rose" (see rose (n.1)).\n

\nThe sense of "series of prayers" is 1540s, from Middle French rosaire, a figurative use of the word meaning "rose garden," on the notion of a "garden" of prayers. This probably embodies the medieval conceit of comparing collections to bouquets (compare anthology and Medieval Latin hortulus animae "prayerbook," literally "little garden of the soul"). Sense transferred 1590s to the strings of beads used as a memory aid in reciting the rosary.

n. 1 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'') 2 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. 3 A series or collection of thoughts, literary pieces, &c. intended for similar contemplation. 4 (context historical currency) 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.

n. beads used in counting prayers (especially Catholic rosary) [syn: prayer beads]

The Rosary usually refers to the Catholic Marian devotional prayers.

It may also refer to:

• A rosary, the prayer beads themselves
• Other rosary-based prayers in Christian contexts
• Similar devotional prayers in other denominations and faiths
• Rosary, a coin minted in Europe as a counterfeit form of the sterling silver penny of Edward I
• Rosary Lakes, a group of lakes in Oregon

The Rosary (, in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), usually in the form of the Dominican Rosary, is a form of prayer used especially in the Catholic Church named for the string of prayer beads used to count the component prayers. When used of the form of prayer, the word is usually capitalized ("the Rosary"), as is customary for other names of prayers, such as "the Lord's Prayer", "the Hail Mary", "the Magnificat". When referring to the beads, it is normally written with a lower-case initial ("a rosary").

The prayers that essentially compose the Rosary are arranged in sets of ten Hail Marys with each set preceded by one Lord's Prayer and followed by one Glory Be. During recitation of each set, known as a decade, thought is given to one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Normally, five decades are recited in a session. Other prayers are sometimes added after each decade (in particular, the Fátima Prayer) and before (in particular, the Apostles' Creed), and after (in particular, the Hail, Holy Queen) the five decades taken as a whole. The rosary as a material object is an aid towards saying these prayers in the proper sequence.

A standard fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, based on the long-standing custom, was established by Pope Pius V in the 16th century, grouping the mysteries in three sets: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries. In 2002 Pope John Paul II suggested a new optional set of five, called the Luminous Mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to twenty.

For over four centuries, the rosary has been promoted by several popes as part of the veneration of Mary in Roman Catholicism.Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 197 The Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the most excellent prayers to the Mother of God

• Popular Piety Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, etc. The rosary also represents the Roman Catholic emphasis on "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ", and the Mariological theme "to Christ through Mary", taught by Saint Louis de Montfort.