prayer flag

[ prair ]

noun

1. a flag stamped with printed prayers, used by Himalayan Buddhists, who believe that its fluttering sends out the prayers inscribed on it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prayer flag¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Recent “compassion flag” projects have borrowed the Tibetan Buddhist prayer flag tradition, with patients and caregivers alike decorating bright rectangles of cloth into personal expressions of faith, loss, recovery and gratitude.

From Washington Times

After the program, you may offer your prayer flag to be hung in Resurrection Chapel on the cathedral’s crypt level.

From Washington Post

Related: Another mass shooting, and yet again we're told: don't politicize, pray | Jeb Lund “She is definitely a big part of the fabric of our community. So much of who we are downtown and who we are in this community is because of her, inspired by her,” said Bree Sargent, education director at Acadiana Center for the Arts, which organized an prayer flag project.

From The Guardian

Carrying a Tibetan Buddhist prayer flag, he ran toward the monastery entrance before collapsing and was rushed to hospital where he died, the report said.

From Salon

For example – do you really want to say hello to X or Y author whose every semicolon has caused your tiny heart to flutter like a prayer flag in a breeze of pure delight?

From The Guardian