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Glite Dictionary
🕯️ A fragrant resin 🌿 A garden herb
sweet cicely

sweet cicely

9.9
A fragrant resin burned as incense and used in perfume
  • noun
  • /ˈswit ˈsɪsəli/
translation icon : mirra
  • The fragrance of sweet cicely drifted through the room as the incense burned.

Examples

  • Many traditional perfumes include extracts of sweet cicely for their distinctive aroma.

  • He preferred using sweet cicely over synthetic fragrances in his homemade candles.

  • The aroma of sweet cicely filled the room.

  • I love the fragrance of sweet cicely in my garden.

  • He preferred using sweet cicely over synthetic fragrances in his homemade candles.

  • Many traditional perfumes include extracts of sweet cicely for their distinctive aroma.

  • The fragrance of sweet cicely drifted through the room as the incense burned.

Synonyms

myrrh
vssweet cicely
9 9.9

A dark sticky substance from trees that people burn as sweet-smelling incense and use in perfumes or medicine

focuses on perfume and incense use rather than medicinal applications
gum myrrh
vssweet cicely
  • Specialized
9.9

A thick sticky substance from some trees that people burn to make a pleasant smell and use in perfume

comes from a plant source rather than specifically from trees
Sumatran benzoin
vssweet cicely
  • Specialized
8.7

A fragrant sticky substance from trees that grow in Sumatra used in perfumes and medicine

is a general resin burned as incense and used in perfume not region specific
sweet gum
vssweet cicely
  • US
7.7

A sticky fragrant substance from a tree used in medicine and perfume

is burned as incense and used for perfume rather than for chewing gum

Surface Forms

sweet cicely singular
sweet cicelys plural

Morphology

sweet + cicely

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a B1 learner who knows 'sweet' and 'cicely' will infer this refers to a sweet- or pleasantly flavored/ aromatic variety or product of the cicely plant. Such adjective+noun plant names are cross-linguistically common and the referential meaning (a sweet cicely plant or its aromatic product) is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Sweet cicely as a fragrant resin may be named after the herb because burning the resin gave a warm, sweet smell like the plant. People used that scent in 'incense' and perfumes, so the name also came to mean the aromatic resin.