JOSS  , in the

pidgin-English of the Chinese seaports, the name given to idols and deities . It is used adjectivally in regard to 1 A prefect of Jerusalem of this name is mentioned by Josephus, .Bell . U . 20 imany things connected with religious rites, such as " joss-house," a temple; " joss-stick," a stick which when burned gives forth a fragrant odour and is used as incense; " joss-paper," paper cut to resemble money (and sometimes with prayers written upon it) burned in funeral and other ceremonies . " Joss " is not a Chinese word, and is probably a corruption of Port. deos, god, applied by Portuguese navigators in the 16th century to the idols worshipped in the East Indies . The Dutch form is joosge (diminutive of joos), whence the Javanese dejos, and the English yos, later joss . The word seems to have been carried to China by English seamen from Batavia .