Etymology

frankincense

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Today it means: A type of aromatic resin obtained from the trees of the genus Boswellia, family Burseraceae, used in incense and perfume. Full definition →

Old French franc encens
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromfranc encens“noble incense”
  2. English todayfrankincense

From Old French franc encens (“noble incense”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.