1. The Lord's Prayer, especially in Latin.
Usage: religious; often capitalized
2. A rosary bead or a string of beads used in prayer, typically with larger beads marking the Lord's Prayer.
Usage: religious
3. A continuous chain or belt with buckets or cups attached, used to raise water or transport materials.
Usage: mechanical; also called paternoster lift or paternoster chain

Examples

• The monk recited the paternoster each morning as part of his daily devotion.
• She fingered the beads of her paternoster while praying in the chapel.
• The old mill used a paternoster to lift grain to the upper floors.
• The office building featured a distinctive paternoster lift that moved continuously without stopping.
• Medieval churches often displayed a paternoster carved from ivory or wood.
• Workers operated the paternoster chain to transport buckets of water from the well.