Definition of "mala"

mala¹

/ˈmeɪ.lə/

noun
plural malae
1. (zootomy)
  1. A single lobe of an insect's maxilla.
  2. The grinding surface of an insect's mandible.
  3. The third segment of a mandible of some myriapods.

mala²

/ˈmæl.ə/

noun
1. plural of malum

mala³

/ˈmɑː.lɑː/

noun
plural malas or mala
1. (Hinduism, Sikhism) A bead or a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity.
  Quotations
  His words were like beads on the string of a mala, escaping his lips in small puffs of air.
  2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness, Canongate Books (2022), page 413