English
cigarette
Cigarette comes from French cigare ‘cigar’, and goes back to Spanish cigarro.
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcigarro‘cigar’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcigare‘cigar’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcigarette
- Englishearliest quotation 1897same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcigarro‘cigar’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcigare‘cigar’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcigarette
- Englishearliest quotation 1897same form
Earliest quotation: 1897, Winston Churchill: “No matter how early I came down, I would…”
Linked words
through Latin cicāda ‘cicada, tree-cricket’
through Spanish cigarro ‘cigar’
Today it means
noun A small cigar consisting of tobacco or another substance, wrapped up in a thin roll with paper, intended for smoking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Spanish cigarro / cigarette