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.
Definitions
A string of beads used by members of various religions to count prayers, chants, or…
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.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for prayer beads. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA