prayer beads
nounEtymology An interesting example of a compound that is diachronically pleonastic, although not synchronically so; the head by itself originally meant the relevant meaning (see bead), but as the head's meaning broadened by extension, the compound then became necessary to specify the relevant meaning by narrowing down.
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Plural normally A string of beads used by members of various religions to count prayers, chants, or devotions.
- Suits didn't wear suits any more—they wore Tibetan prayer beads coiled around their wrists. But they slithered in a suitlike way.2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books, →ISBN:
- Related terms
- prayer book