Word of the Day 8.5.08
pa·ter·nos·ter (p
t
r-n
s
tr, pä-, p
tr-)
n.
1. often Paternoster The Lord’s Prayer.
2. One of the large beads on a rosary on which the Lord’s Prayer is said.
3. A sequence of words spoken as a prayer or a magic formula.
4. A weighted fishing line having several jointed attachments for hooks connected by beadlike swivels.
5. An elevator constructed of a series of doorless compartments hung on chains that move slowly and continuously, allowing passengers to step on and off at will.
[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin : Latin pater, father; see pater + Latin noster, our; see nes-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
