"the Lord's Prayer," Old English Pater Noster, from Latin pater noster "our father," the first words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin. Meaning "set of rosary beads" is by mid-13c. (originally it was the name of one of the larger beads). Paternoster Row, near St. Paul's in London (similarly named streets are found in other cathedral cities), reflects the once-important industry of rosary bead-making.
