komboskini

English

Etymology

From Greek κομποσκοίνι (komposkoíni, prayer rope).

Noun

komboskini (plural komboskini)

  1. (Christianity) A rope of usually 33, 50 or 100 knots, used in meditative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic tradition, to count one's recitations of the Jesus Prayer.
    Synonyms: chotki, prayer rope

Usage notes

All three terms (chotki, prayer rope and komboskini) are in common usage by Orthodox Christians, though the choice of word tends to indicate one's ecclesiastic tradition: prayer rope is tradition-neutral, chotki is commonly used by those of the Slavic tradition, and komboskini is most common amongst those of the Greek tradition.

Translations