olibanum
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Medieval Latin olibanum, from Latin oleum libani, the first word meaning oil and the second from Ancient Greek λίβανος (líbanos, “frankincense (Boswellia sacra)”), from a Semitic source. See the Semitic root L-B-N لبن, meaning "white". Cognate with Biblical Hebrew לְבוֹנָה (l'voná, “frankincense”), Arabic لبان (lubān, “frankincense”). (Compare benzoin for a similar process of metanalysis.) Doublet of oliban.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
olibanum (countable and uncountable, plural olibanums)
- A gum resin from trees of the genus Boswellia, formerly used as a medicine and now mainly as incense. [from 14th c.]
- 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 112:
- Aromatics were used, too, especially in necromancy, and an old recipe of that sort comprises Musk, Myrrh, Frankincense, Red Storax, Mastick, Olibanum, Saffron, Benzoin and Labdanum.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
frankincense — see frankincense