joss
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of joss1
1705–15; < Chinese Pidgin English < Portuguese deos < Latin deus god
Origin of joss2
First recorded in 1855–60; origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Same for the fruit to set at my grandpa and grandma’s altar, as well as the joss paper to burn for their good fortune.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2024
Altogether, the Chens have been making joss paper for around 100 years.
From Reuters • Jan. 26, 2022
During the boat-burning ceremony, attendees must not turn away, step on the joss paper or make loud noises for fear of inviting bad spirits.
From Washington Post • Nov. 10, 2021
On some of the short plinths, in front of the headstone, people had placed lighted joss sticks that had long since burned down; only their stems remained, like the surviving bristles of an ancient toothbrush.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2017
Elsie pulls out some joss paper from her pouch.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
