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

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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

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 Bret Harte

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

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

From The Gray Mask by Wadsworth Camp

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