olibanum

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olibanum

/ɒˈlɪbənəm/ UK

Where it comes from

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, compare Proto-Semitic *laban- (“white”). Cognate with Biblical Hebrew לְבוֹנָה (l'voná, “frankincense”), Arabic لبان (lubān, “frankincense”). (Compare benzoin for a similar process of metanalysis.) Doublet of oliban.

noun olibanums

countable, uncountable A gum resin from trees of the genus Boswellia, formerly used as a medicine and now mainly as incense. 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.
Similar: frankincense

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MLA

"olibanum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/olibanum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

olibanum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/olibanum

Chicago

"olibanum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/olibanum.

BibTeX

@misc{olibanum_2026,
  title = {olibanum},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/olibanum},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}