Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An aromatic gum resin obtained from African and Asian trees of the genus Boswellia, used as incense and in perfumes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An aromatic gum resin yielded by trees of the genus Boswellia, much used from ancient times, especially for burning as incense in religious observances. See
olibanum . Also calledgum thus . - noun Hence2, Some other resin resembling olibanum in any way.
- noun The principal trees yielding resinous exudations known as frankincense are: Boswellia Carterii (see
Boswellia ) - noun the Norway spruce, Abies Picea;
- noun the loblolly-pine, Pinus Tæda (see
frankincense , 2); and - noun Styrax punctata (see
Styrax ).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A fragrant, aromatic resin, or gum resin, burned as an incense in religious rites or for medicinal fumigation. The best kinds now come from East Indian trees, of the genus Boswellia; a commoner sort, from the Norway spruce (
Abies excelsa ) and other coniferous trees. The frankincense of the ancient Jews is still unidentified.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of
incense obtained from the Boswellia thurifera tree.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an aromatic gum resin obtained from various Arabian or East African trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Jesus has to send child support payments in frankincense and myrrh.
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Today, frankincense is still widely used in religious services, and also in fumigants and perfumes.
An old chestnut, re-roasted ewillett 2007
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Actually, frankincense is the hardened resin of trees of the genus Boswellia, which grow in north-eastern Africa and Arabia.
An old chestnut, re-roasted ewillett 2007
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Historically, the hill of frankincense is Calvary, where, "through the eternal Spirit He offered Himself"; the mountain of myrrh is His embalmment (Joh 19: 39) till the resurrection "daybreak."
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A minimalist, cubist interpretation of incense, a touch of spices, powdery orris, dry cedar wood and ambergris, supporting the frankincense, that is rich, crisp, red and intense.
Archive 2008-02-01 Marina Geigert 2008
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Monkey brought frankincense, which is a gift of air and spirit.
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Add boswellia aka frankincense at 1,000 mg a day and willow bark so you get 120 to 240 mg of the active component called salicin, which is also, by the way, the active component of aspirin—we like the aspirin itself.
You Being Beautiful Michael F. Roizen 2008
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Monkey brought frankincense, which is a gift of air and spirit.
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Add boswellia aka frankincense at 1,000 mg a day and willow bark so you get 120 to 240 mg of the active component called salicin, which is also, by the way, the active component of aspirin—we like the aspirin itself.
You Being Beautiful Michael F. Roizen 2008
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A minimalist, cubist interpretation of incense, a touch of spices, powdery orris, dry cedar wood and ambergris, supporting the frankincense, that is rich, crisp, red and intense.
The Desert King: Tauer Perfumes Incense Extreme Marina Geigert 2008
sionnach commented on the word frankincense
Meanwhile, over in the NY Times "Styles' section, resident perfume critic Chandler Burr is dipping into the mushrooms again. On the perfume "2 Man" he writes -
The perfumer Mark Buxton built the upper decks of this sleekest of vessels out of C11 ISO, a synthetic molecule that smells of clean pressed fire, if you can imagine such a thing; the pine-scented synthetic C12 MNA; and a high-quality natural Haitian vetiver that smells like dust on jungle trees. But the hull is frankincense from Oman, an incense cool as cream, warm as onion-skin stationery, glossy and slick as a traffic light in the rain. This technically flawless perfume (it diffuses like radium) smells more beautiful than one can say, like a perfect chord in an empty echo chamber. Herodotus warned that frankincense was dangerous to harvest because poisonous snakes lived in the Arabian trees that contained it, and I do believe my first reaction to 2 Man was, in part, fear.
(I do believe that my first reaction to one of Chandler's reviews was also, in part, fear. Combined with an overwhelming desire to confiscate all of his dictionaries and reference books)
December 16, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word frankincense
"On the demise of the dictator Sulla in 79 B.C., after a slow and hideous death caused by worms devouring his flesh, an effigy of cinnamon was constructed in his image. 'It is said that the women contributed such a vast bulk of spices for the interment that, aside from what was carried on two hundred and ten litters, there was enough to make a large figure of Sulla, and that an image of a lictor (staff bearer) was molded from expensive frankincense and cinnamon.'"
--Jack Turner, _Spice: The History of a Temptation_ (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), 148
Another usage/historical note can be found on mephitic. And on balsam. And galbanum. And a nice translated primary source from ca. 900 on perfumer.
December 2, 2016