Meanings
nounjoss stick (plural joss sticks)
plural joss sticks · alternative joss-stick
- A stick of incense, especially (Taoism, Buddhism, etc.) those burned as an offering before a Chinese shrine.
For instance, Hawkins, Lewis, Hankin and Sengupta all cover the word agarbatti, an incense stick or joss stick, but there is no way of knowing when this term was first used in Indian English, nor whether it is now current or obsolete.
2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes, page 300
Origin
From joss (“Chinese idol”) + stick.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 香
- 香 (hoeng¹)incense stick
Chinese Mandarin 香
- 香 (xiāng)incense stick
Finnish suitsuke, suitsutuspuikko
- suitsukeincense stick
- suitsutuspuikkoincense stick
German Räucherstäbchen
- Räucherstäbchenincense stick
Indonesian hio
- hioincense stick
Irish bata túise
- bata túiseincense stick
Italian bastoncini di incenso
- bastoncini di incensoincense stick
Malay colok
- colokincense stick
Polish kadzidełko
- kadzidełkoincense stick
Tagalog tanghas
- tanghasincense stick
Thai ธูป
- ธูป (tûup)incense stick
Turkish tütsü çubuğu
- tütsü çubuğuincense stick
Cite this entry
APA
joss stick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss%20stick
MLA
“joss stick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss%20stick. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “joss stick,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss%20stick.
Source: joss stick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.