joss stick

American  

noun

1. a slender stick of a dried, fragrant paste, burned by the Chinese as incense before a joss.

---

joss stick British  

noun

1. a stick of dried perfumed paste, giving off a fragrant odour when burnt as incense

---

Etymology

Origin of joss stick

First recorded in 1880–85

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

joss stick

At one end of the living room of a Formosan cottage, incense from a burning joss stick rose fragrantly before an image of Buddha.

From Time Magazine Archive

The aromatic odor of the burnt joss stick still clung to the suite of apartments, and Forbes noticed it at once.

From Number Seventeen by Louis Tracy

For quite ten minutes Ainsleigh continued waving, until the joss stick burnt down nearly to the root.

From The Mandarin's Fan by Fergus Hume

Hwei was here on the night poor Miss Wharf was killed, and dropped the joss stick.

From The Mandarin's Fan by Fergus Hume

"It is odd, too, that you and the detectives should have noticed the smell of a joss stick in the flat," went on Miss Beale.

From Number Seventeen by Louis Tracy

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---