Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cigarettes” come from?

Cigarettes derives from French cigarette, a diminutive of cigare from Spanish cigarra, ultimately from Latin cicada, a cicada insect.

cigarettes (English): plural of cigarette; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of cigarette; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “cigarettes”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcigaretteTobacco or other substances, in a thin roll...
2Frenchcigarettecigarette
3Frenchcigarecigar
4Spanishcigarrocigar; cigarette
5Spanishcigarracicada
6Vulgar Latin*cicār(r)a—
7Latincicadacicada, tree-cricket; vocative singular of...
Every word from Latin cicada →