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

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

Got some signal, you bet!" said the driver; "some yeller paper or piece o' joss stick in the road.

From From Sand Hill to Pine by Harte, Bret

The joss stick fizzled and burned and gave out its queer smell, which made both slightly dizzy.

From The Mandarin's Fan by Hume, Fergus

Then he looked again, Olivia placed the still fizzling joss stick in the fender, and peered over his shoulder.

From The Mandarin's Fan by Hume, Fergus

A muttered "I understand—perfectly," showed this, and he did not strive to conceal the alarm which possessed him when Theydon spoke of the joss stick.

From Number Seventeen by Tracy, Louis