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

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

From Number Seventeen by Tracy, Louis

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

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

From The Mandarin's Fan by Hume, Fergus

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

From The Gray Mask by Camp, Wadsworth