joss stick

American  

noun

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

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joss stick British  

noun

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

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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 only peculiar thing, if I may so describe it, about the place, is the scent of a burnt joss stick.

From Number Seventeen by Tracy, Louis

Hwei went to the shrine and brought forth a joss stick.

From The Mandarin's Fan by Hume, Fergus

"Evidently he is not acquainted with the peculiar smell of a joss stick."

From Number Seventeen by Tracy, Louis

They'll be in here before you can light a joss stick.

From The Gray Mask by Camp, Wadsworth