thurible

[ thoor-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈθʊər ə bəl /

Save This Word!

noun

a censer.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of thurible

1400–50; late Middle English turrible, thoryble<Latin t(h)ūribulum censer, equivalent to t(h)ūr- (stem of t(h)ūs) incense + -i--i- + -bulum instrumental suffix

Words nearby thurible

thunk, Thur., Thurber, Thurber, James, Thurgau, thurible, thurifer, Thuringer, Thuringia, Thuringian, Thuringian Forest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use thurible in a sentence

Two other priests drew a silvern thurible upon wheels down the length of the temple and around each of its columns.
Sulamith: A Romance of Antiquity|Alexandre Kuprin
Thurible, thū′ri-bl, n. a censer of metal for burning frankincense.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
The Pope then puts incense into the thurible for the procession, and the first Card.
The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week at Rome|Charles Michael Baggs
According to Sarum and Bangor, the thurible, as well as the lights, attended the Gospel to the lectern.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 3|Various

It is supposed to have been formed to allow a thurible to be suspended therefrom into the church below.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Norwich|C. H. B. Quennell

British Dictionary definitions for thurible

thurible

/ (ˈθjʊərɪbəl) /

noun

another word for censer

Word Origin for thurible

C15: from Latin tūribulum censer, from tūs incense

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012