prayer beads

English

Etymology

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.

Noun

prayer beads pl (normally plural, singular prayer bead)

  1. A string of beads used by members of various religions to count prayers, chants, or devotions.
    Hyponyms: rosary (sometimes synonymous), paternoster
    • 2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books, →ISBN:
      Suits didn't wear suits any more—they wore Tibetan prayer beads coiled around their wrists. But they slithered in a suitlike way.

Translations