incense (redirected from cense)

incense, perfume diffused by the burning of aromatic gums or spices. Incense was used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and is mentioned in the Old and the New Testaments. It is also found in the major religions of Asia. The Babylonians used it while praying in the 6th and 5th cent. B.C. and the Greeks used it as protection against demons during the 8th cent. B.C. The earliest clear record of its use in public worship in the Roman Catholic Church is c.500.

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incense

Grains of resins (sometimes mixed with spices) that burn with a fragrant odor, widely used as religious offerings. Historically, the chief substances used as incense have been resins such as frankincense and myrrh, along with fragrant wood and bark, seeds, roots, and flowers.

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incense

1. any of various aromatic substances burnt for their fragrant odour, esp in religious ceremonies

2. the odour or smoke so produced