Etymograph

English

censer

Censer comes from Old French encensier, from encens ‘incense’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én1‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en1‘in’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en-1‘in, into, in-’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincendō2‘to set on fire, burn, kindle’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincēnsum2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400encens3‘incense’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400encensier3
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400censier3
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500censer3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1831censer3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French encens
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English censer
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley: “A thousand wax tapers burned in honour of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énWiktionary, Latin incendo‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*enWiktionary, Latin incendo‘in’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en-Wiktionary, Latin incendo‘in, into, in-’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincendōWiktionary, Old French encens‘to set on fire, burn, kindle’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincēnsumWiktionary, Old French encens
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400encensWiktionary, English censer‘incense’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400encensierWiktionary, English censer
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400censierWiktionary, English censer
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500censerWiktionary, English censer
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1831censerWiktionary, English censer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley: “A thousand wax tapers burned in honour of the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, internal, entrance, indigenous, intern, endo, dysentery, interregnum, enteral, 31 more

through Proto-Italic *en ‘in’

intimate, encounter, intestine, ensemble, intimation, agog, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *en- ‘in, into, in-’

impulse, infirmary, incubation, infirm, incubus, incubate, impel, 6 more

through Latin incendō ‘to set on fire, burn, kindle’

incendiary, 3 more

through Old French encens ‘incense’

incense

Today it means

noun An ornamental container for burning incense, especially during religious ceremonies.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “censer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin incendo, Old French encens. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁én / censer

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