---
title: frankincense — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «frankincense» in the school dictionary: A sweet-smelling gum (resin) from certain trees in Arabia and Africa, burned to make perfumed smoke. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# frankincense

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** smelling gum, One, Christians, wise men, Frankincense, I · **What happens:** smell, burn, make, perfume, give, see · **To what, where:** perfumed smoke, baby, Jesus God, worship, gold, frankincense · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«frankincense» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [frankincense in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/frankincense.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sweet-smelling gum (resin) from certain trees in Arabia and Africa, burned to make perfumed smoke.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:m1:1
# text = A sweet-smelling gum (resin) from certain trees in Arabia and Africa, burned to make perfumed smoke.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	smelling	smell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	amod	_	_
5	gum	gum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	resin	resin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	7	punct	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	certain	certain	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	Arabia	Arabia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
17	burned	burn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	advcl	_	_
20	perfumed	perfume	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	21	amod	_	_
21	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	17	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smell** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn smell\_emission-43.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **burn** | past | a smelling gum from certain trees in Arabia and Africa |  |  |  |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **make** | to-infinitive | a smelling gum from certain trees in Arabia and Africa *not said here* | perfumed smoke |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset smoke=Product |
| 4 | **perfume** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: Bible — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One of the three gifts the wise men gave the baby Jesus, with gold and myrrh; Christians see it as a sign that Jesus is God, since it was burned in worship.

<!-- fold The tree, 32 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:m2:1
# text = One of the three gifts the wise men gave the baby Jesus, with gold and myrrh; Christians see it as a sign that Jesus is God, since it was burned in worship.
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	gifts	gift	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	men	man	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	myrrh	myrrh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
19	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	20	nsubj	_	_
20	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obj	_	_
22	as	as	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
25	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	28	mark	_	_
26	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	28	amod	_	_
27	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	cop	_	_
28	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	24	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
30	since	since	SCONJ	IN	_	33	mark	_	_
31	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	33	nsubj:pass	_	_
32	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	aux:pass	_	_
33	burned	burn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	conj	_	_
34	in	in	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
35	worship	worship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	33	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | One of the three gifts | the baby |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent baby=Recipient gold=Theme |
| 2 | **see** | present | Christians | baby |  |  |  | as a sign | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus as sign=Attribute |
| 3 | **is a** | present |  | Jesus God |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **burn** | past · passive |  | baby |  | worship |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V NP.theme»: subject=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x1:1
# text = The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	men	man	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	brought	bring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	myrrh	myrrh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | past | the wise men | gold and frankincense and myrrh |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent gold=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Frankincense smells sweet when it burns.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x2:1
# text = Frankincense smells sweet when it burns.
1	Frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	smells	smell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	6	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	burns	burn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smell** | present | Frankincense |  |  |  |  | sweet *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **burn** | present | Frankincense |  |  |  |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the nativity play I carried the frankincense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x3:1
# text = In the nativity play I carried the frankincense.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	nativity	nativity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | past | I | the frankincense |  | the nativity play |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent frankincense=Value in play=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Frankincense comes from the sap of a tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x4:1
# text = Frankincense comes from the sap of a tree.
1	Frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sap	SAP	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Frankincense |  |  | the sap of a tree |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from sap=Initial\_Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The church filled with the smell of frankincense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x5:1
# text = The church filled with the smell of frankincense.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	church	church	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	filled	fill	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fill** | participle |  | the church *not said here* |  |  |  | with the smell of frankincense | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with smell=Instrument |
| 2 | **smell** |  | frankincense |  |  |  |  |  | nom smell «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People have traded frankincense for thousands of years.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x6:1
# text = People have traded frankincense for thousands of years.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	traded	trade	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	thousands	thousand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **trade** | present · perfect | People | frankincense |  |  |  | for thousands of years | vn exchange-13.6.1 «NP V NP PP.co-theme»: agent=Agent frankincense=Theme for thousand=Co-Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
So she put a bit of frankincense before him and asked him to tell what it was.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frankincense:x7:1
# text = So she put a bit of frankincense before him and asked him to tell what it was.
1	So	so	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	put	put	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	before	before	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	iobj	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
15	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	14	ccomp	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
17	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | past | she | a bit of frankincense |  |  | before him *= he* |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent bit=Theme before he=Destination |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | she *not said here* |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent he=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | she *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is a** | past | bit |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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