▪ I. incense, n.
(ˈɪnsɛns)
Forms: 3 ansens, 4 ensense, encenz, 4–5 encense, encence, 4–6 encens, ensence, 4–8 ensens, 5 yncense, 5–6 incence, 6 insence, 5– incense.
[ME. ansens, encenz, a. OF. encens (12th c.), ancens, ad. eccl. L. incensum incense, lit. ‘that which is set on fire’, neuter of incensus, pa. pple. of incendĕre to set on fire. Altered through ensence, encence to incense, after L. An aphetic ME. form was cense n.1]
1. An aromatic gum or other vegetable product, or a mixture of fragrant gums and spices, used for producing a sweet smell when burned.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 178/22 Gold and mirre and Ansens. c 1340 Cursor M. 9358 (Trin.) Wel swotir hir vestiment Þan encense þat is brent. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2545 Þan was þar at hure fete of encenz a fair dentee, And of balme þat smylleþ swete & spycery gret plentee. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1573 And moore encens in to the fyr he caste. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xix. 87 Þai bring..incense and oþer thinges swete smelland. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 179 b, Some aduysed her to brenne incence in her cell. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xcvii. 280 His roote sauoreth like the Encens, which is called in Greke Libanos. 1610 Markham Masterp. i. xciv. 186 Take the powder of gumdragant, Ensens, and damaske roses. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccxcvii, The East with incense, and the West with gold, Will stand like suppliants to receive her doom. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4518/4 For Publick Sale,..a good quantity of..Oil of Turpentine, Ensens alias Frankincense. 1850 J. Gardner Faiths World II. 127 On the great day of atonement..having received incense from one of the priests, he [the high-priest] offered it on the golden altar. 1897 Willis Flower. Pl. II. 363 It [Styrax] is used medicinally and for incense. |
2. The smoke or perfume of incense,
esp. when burned as an oblation or in religious ceremonial.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 341 Bi þe encence þei myȝten putte awey þe stynke of þe stable. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 243 With encense He sacreth and doth reverence. 1483 Caxton Cato I iv b, To pease God wyth encence and by good werkes. 1611 Bible Ezek. viii. 11 A thicke cloud of incense went vp. 1661 South Twelve Serm. (1698) III. 177 Like Incense, while it ascends to Heaven it perfumes all about it. 1739 Gray Let. in Poems (1775) 69 We listened to this, and breathed nothing but incense for two hours. 1860 C. Sangster Hesperus etc. 181, I too Did offer incense in that solemn place. |
3. transf. a. (In biblical language.) The smoke or odour of any burnt sacrifice.
b. Any pleasant perfume or fragrance, as of flowers.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxv. 14 [lxvi. 15], I sall offire til þe wiþ encens of wethirs [so Wyclif 1382; 1611 incense of rammes]. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 194 Sacred Light began to dawne In Eden on the humid Flours, that breathd Thir morning Incense. 1712 Pope Messiah 24 With all the incense of the breathing spring. 1821 Shelley Ginevra 126 The matin winds from the expanded flowers Scatter their hoarded incense. |
4. fig. Applied to something figured as a religious sacrifice, or as offered in the way of homage,
e.g. prayer, praise, flattery;
esp. when represented as grateful to the recipient.
| [a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxl. 2 My prayere be rightid as ensens in þi sight.] 1382 Wyclif Rev. viii. 4 The smoke of the encensis of the preyers of halewis. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 194 Offer pure incense to so pure a shrine. 1614 Earl Stirling Domes-day ii. (R.), The sorrow of his saints doth move God much: No sweeter incence then the sighs of such. 1738 Pope Univ. Prayer 52 To thee..One Chorus let all Being raise, All Nature's Incense rise! 1746–7 Hervey Medit. (1818) 195 Continue to add the incense of a dutiful life, to all the oblations of a grateful tongue. a 1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) II. x. 22 The incense of flattery which his satellites were forever burning beneath his nostrils. 1879 Farrar St. Paul I. 313 The king, to whom no incense was so sweet as the voice of popular applause. |
5. Comb., as
incense-breath,
incense-cloud,
incense-mist,
incense-pan,
incense-pot,
incense-smoke;
incense-bearing,
incense-burning,
incense-loaded adjs.;
incense-blossom, a blossom yielding ‘incense’ or fragrance;
incense-boat, a boat-shaped vessel used to hold incense for transfer to a censer;
† incense-brass, a rendering of
Gr. χαλκολίβανον in
Rev. i. 15 (1611 ‘fine brass’, R. V. 1881 ‘burnished brass’, but also explained as ‘yellow frankincense’);
incense-breathing a., exhaling ‘incense’ or fragrance;
incense-burner, (
a) one who burns incense; (
b) a vessel or stand in or on which incense is burnt;
incense-cedar, the genus
Libocedrus,
esp. the White Cedar (
L. decurrens) of Western North America;
incense-cup, a cup or small vessel for burning incense; also applied to certain small vessels found in prehistoric graves;
† incense-frank = frankincense (
obs.);
incense-tree, a name for various trees yielding incense,
esp. of the genera
Boswellia (chiefly East Indian) and
Icica (chiefly South American); also applied to a species of
Pittosporum, from its fragrant flowers;
incense-wood, the wood of
Icica heptaphylla, a South American tree;
† incense-wort, ‘a kind of herb’ (Phillips, 1706).
| 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam xii. xix, Many a lawny mountain With *incense-bearing forests. |
| 1817 ― To Constantia Singing, Western isles with *incense-blossoms bright. |
| 1853 J. D. H. Dale tr. Baldeschi's Cerem. Rom. Rite 8 He..presents the navicula (or *incense-boat) to the Master of Ceremonies. 1866 R. F. Littledale Incense 19 The priest..takes the incense-boat, and burns incense in the thurible, censing the altar five times. |
| 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 17 b, The feete of the Lord are of Copper, or like to *Incens-brasse burnyng in a fire. For Incensbrasse is a word compounded of Brasse and Incence. |
| 1750 Gray Elegy v, The breezy call of *incense-breathing morn. |
| a 1843 Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. IV. 3 An *incense-burner to the idols. |
| 1884 Miller Plant-n., Libocedrus, *Incense Cedar. |
| a 1835 Mrs. Hemans Poems, To Picture Madonna, And hath the crested helmet bow'd Before thee, midst the *incense-cloud? |
| 1633 True Trojans iii. vi. in Hazl. Dodsley XII. 498 An altar we descry, Where *incense-frank and amber fumes did fly In little rolling curls. |
| 1842 Faber Styrian Lake etc. 37 The *incense-loaded air. |
| a 1835 Mrs. Hemans Poems, Minster, Revealing Through *incense-mists their sainted pageantry. |
| 1611 Florio, Incensorio, a censor, or *incense-pan. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal 248 There was no such matter as the bringing of their incense in papers to the altars; there being, for that purpose, an incense-pan. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 43 A little Altar, with two *Incense-pots on it. |
| 1587 Fenner in Farr S.P. Eliz. (1845) II. 341 Spiknard, saffron, sweet canes, Cinomon, with the rest Of *incense-trees. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho xxi. (1889) 391 Shrubberies of heaths and rhododendrons, and woolly incense-trees. 1884 Leisure Hour Dec. 753/2 The Pittosporum or incense tree, as it is here called from the perfume which its pretty white flowers give out. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot., *Incense wood, Icica heptaphylla. |
▪ II. incense, v.1 (
ˈɪnsɛns)
Forms: see
incense n. [a. F. encenser (Chanson Roland, 11th c.), corresp. to med.L. and It. incensāre, f. encens, incensum, incenso, incense n.] 1. trans. To fumigate or perfume (a person or thing) with incense,
esp. in connexion with a religious ceremony; to burn or offer incense before (an image), or to (a deity); to cense.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11093 Þey ensensede þe body. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Baptista 47 Þis zachary..wes in þe tempil gan,..til incense þe altere. 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 44 Chorees children, with new senceres ensencen the auters of synne. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. xv. 47/1 Now clerkes encense ymages & other. 1558 Hethe in Strype Ann. Ref. (1824) I. App. vi. 402 Kinge Ozias did take the censer to incense the aulter. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 144 An Idol-roome, where they Incense these Deities morning and euening. 1709 J. Johnson Clergym. Vade M. ii. 194 They that..did not..with their own hands incense Idols. 1805 Southey Madoc ii. ii, And those infernal Priests who guard him then..At morning and at evening incense him, And mock him with knee-reverence. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. x, Neither..shall any man or woman, self-styled noble, be ‘incensed,’—foolishly fumigated with incense, in Church. |
| fig. 1729 Stackhouse Body Divin. iv. i. §2 (1776) II. 428 The prayers of the saints incensed with the merits of his sacrifice. |
2. transf. To perfume with any pleasant odour; to suffuse with fragrance; to scent. (In
quot. 1503, to drive
out by diffusing fragrance.)
| 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. iv. iii, Fragrant floures full of delycasy That all yll heyres [= airs] dyde ensence oute. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. vii. 68 Some Powder of Benjoin, Myrrh or Frankincense, which produce a thick Smoke, that incenses or perfumes the whole Room. 1852 Hawthorne Blithedale Rom. iv, A goodly quantity of peat, which was crumbling to white ashes,.. incensed the kitchen with its not ungrateful odor. 1861 L. L. Noble Icebergs 303 Wild roses incensed the fresh air. 1884 J. Payne 1001 Nights VIII. 20 She incensed herself with aloes-wood and scented herself with musk and ambergris. |
3. fig. To offer flattering homage or adulation to; to flatter. ?
Obs.| 1732 Gentl. Instr. (ed. 10) 212 (D.) He..now must be bought off and incensed by his Sovereign, as the Devil is by the Indians, that he may do no more harm. 1736 Ld. Hervey Mem. Geo. II, I. 319 Flatterers that were perpetually incensing his altars. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 206 This was not the only instance in which the poet incensed the painter. |
4. To burn or offer as incense (
lit. and
fig.).
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. Concl., The good, if any bee, is due..to be incensed to the honour first of the Diuine Maiestie, and next of your Maiestie. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 417 A Censer with Incense, which he incenseth. 1872 J. G. Murphy Comm. Lev. iv. 11–12 The whole carcass of the bullock is burned, not incensed or turned into a sweet smell on the altar, but consumed by fire in the place of ashes. |
5. intr. To burn or offer incense.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 395 They nolde encense ne sacrifise right nought. 1388 Wyclif Luke i. 9 He..entride in to the temple, to encense. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. vi. 169 To encense to God or to a Seint bifore an auter. 1638 Penit. Conf. viii. (1657) 250 Such who..through frailty had incensed unto Idols. 1870 Daily News 7 Feb., His Holiness..afterwards walked round the coffin, incensing and sprinking holy water. |
▪ III. incense, v.2 (
ɪnˈsɛns)
Forms: 5
encense, 5–6
ensense, 5–7
incence, 6–7
insence, 6–
incense.
[a. OF. incenser (? encenser) (15–16th c. in Godef.), f. L. incens-, ppl. stem of incendĕre to set on fire, incend.] † 1. trans. To set on fire, kindle; to consume with fire, burn.
Obs.| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. xi, Syr Launcelot with his viij felowes wente aboute the hors bere syngyng & redyng many an holy oryson, & frankensens vpon the corps encensed. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 64 Incenced with Heate. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. i. xv, Envyroned about With tongues of fyre as bright as any starre, That fyry flambes ensensed alway out. 1593 G. Fletcher Licia (1876) 53 For why my heart with sighs doth breath such flame, That ayre and water both incensed be. 1625 Bacon Ess., Adversitie (Arb.) 505 Vertue is like pretious Odours, most fragrant, when they are incensed, or crushed. c 1700 Addison Milton imit. out of 3rd æneid (R.), Now belches molten stones and ruddy flame Incenst, or tears up mountains by the roots. |
† b. To heat, make hot.
Obs.| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. i. iv. 12 Madnesse..hath the same causes as the other [Phrensie], as Choler adust, and Blood incensed, Braines inflamed. |
† 2. fig. To inflame, excite, ‘kindle’ (passion or ardent feeling).
Obs.| 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie i. iii. 184 Shall Curio..with bare groping touch Incense his lust? 1631 Gouge God's Arrows i. §4. 7 These by their sinnes much incense Gods wrath. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 692 Will God incense his ire For such a petty Trespass? 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. vii. vi. (1849) 410 Perplexities which bewildered the brain and incensed the ire of honest Peter. |
† 3. To inflame, excite, ‘fire’ (a person
with some ardent feeling or passion).
Obs. exc. as in b.
| 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 102 My saule truly with holy lufe was ensensyd. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. ii, Some..be incensed with glorie, some with ambicion. 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Vict. i. lx, And all incensed with love, With wonder and amazement, did her beauty prove. 1664 Flodden F. i. 1 You muses all my mind incense. |
b. spec. To inflame with wrath, excite or provoke to anger, make angry, enrage, exasperate. (The current sense.)
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. ccvii. 220 For the whiche he ensensed the kynge of Fraunce agayne hym in all that he myght. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxviii. xvi, How ofte this crooked kind Incenst him in the desert every where. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. iii. 36 Much was the knight incenst with his lewd word. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxx. 119 They incensed the Inhabitants against him. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xvi. ii, This so incensed her father, that..he departed from her with many hard words and curses. 1858 Bright Sp. India 24 June, A thing likely to incense and horrify the people of India. |
c. fig. To stir up, make violent or furious.
In
quot. 1604 with mixture of sense 1.
| 1604 Dekker Honest Wh. Wks. 1873 II. 133 Winds wrastling with great fires, incense the flames. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 2 A sea tempestuous and vnfaithfull; at an instant incensed with sudden gusts. Ibid. 25 A trade-wind blowing..which when contrary to the streame, doth exceedingly incense it. |
† 4. To incite to some action; to urge, instigate, stir up, ‘set on’. Const.
to or
to do something.
In some instances perhaps associated with
insense,
q.v.| 1531 Elyot Gov. i. xiv, If nature..wyll dispose them to that maner studie, they shall be therto the more incensed, and come unto it the better prepared and furnisshed. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. 1 Pet. 7 The Profession..whereunto they ought rather to be encensed and allured by your honest behauiour. 1600 Holland Livy xxvii. xlix. 665 [Asdrubal] when his men were weery and drew back..incensed [accendit] them againe, one while by faire words and intreatie, another while by sharpe checks and rebukes. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xxviii. (1647) 217 By which speech he incensed the English to go on with him. |