frankincense

plural frankincenses

1. countableuncountableA type of aromatic resin obtained from the trees of the genus Boswellia, family Burseraceae, used in incense and perfume.

   Frankincense, Frankenstein, Francophile, Philistine / Frankly, we are killing time

   2019, “Keep Moving Don't Move”, in The Book of Traps and Lessons, performed by Kae Tempest

   2 more examples

   “Flame-coloured are his wings, and coloured like flame is his body. His lips are sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense.”

   1888, Oscar Wilde, “The Nightingale and the Rose”, in The Happy Prince and Other Tales, London: Duckworth, published 1928, page 46

   The glories of Mary held his soul captive : spikenard and myrrh and frankincense, symbolising the preciousness of God's gifts to her soul, rich garments, symbolising her royal lineage, her emblems, the lateflowering plant and lateblossoming tree, symbolising the agelong gradual growth of her cultus among men.

   1916, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC

   Synonyms: olibanum