Where does “chain smoker” come from?

chain smoker (English) comes from German Kettenraucher, from German Raucher, from German rauchen, from French fumer, from Middle French fumer, from Latin fumare, from Latin fumo, from Latin fumus — smoke; mist, haze.

chain smoker (English): One who smokes continuously, by lighting one cigarette when they finish another, as in a chain

Definitions

  1. One who smokes continuously, by lighting one cigarette when they finish another, as in a chain

Ancestry of “chain smoker”, step by step

chain smoker traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Kettenraucher

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanKettenraucherchain smoker
2GermanRaucheragent noun of rauchen; smoker
3Germanrauchento smoke
4Frenchfumerto smoke; to emit smoke; to steam
5Middle Frenchfumerto smoke
6Latinfumarepresent active infinitive of fūmō; second-person...
7LatinfumoI smoke, steam, fume
8Latinfumussmoke, steam; indication, sign
9Proto-Italicfūmossmoke
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰuh₂móssmoke
11Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

via English smoker

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsmokerA person who smokes tobacco habitually; A smoking...
2English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
3Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-ārefirst conjugation
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-eh₂

via English chain

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishchainA series of interconnected rings or links usually...
2Middle EnglishcheyneA chain; a series of links made of metal,...
3Old Frenchchaine
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-
chain smoker — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer