nag champa

noun

A sandalwood-heavy perfume oil originating in India, or incense thus perfumed

OriginSanskrit नाग →
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Meanings

nounnag champa (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA sandalwood-heavy perfume oil originating in India, or incense thus perfumed

    They were very young and very quiet and I was not in the mood, so I went down to the incense seller, near Kmart, and bought a couple of boxes of nag champa.

    2001 September 21, Cara Jepsen, “New York Diary”, in Chicago Reader

Origin

  1. Sanskritनाग“cobra”
  2. Englishnag champa

From Sanskrit नाग (nāga, “cobra”), in this context "breath, spirit," + चंपा (caṃpā, “plumeria flowers”).

More words from Sanskrit

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nag champa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nag%20champa

MLA

“nag champa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nag%20champa. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nag champa,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nag%20champa.

Source: nag champa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.