cigar

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɪˈɡɑː(ɹ)/ (UK); /sɪˈɡɑɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish cigarro,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} of uncertain origin.^[3][6] It is possibly from Maya sicar “to smoke rolled tobacco leaves”, from sik “tobacco”,^[2][3][4] or from or influenced by Spanish cigarra “cicada”, from a resemblance of shape,^[3][4] from Latin cicada.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A compact roll of tobacco leaves for smoking (1730 in Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster; 1735 in the OED).^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

An earlier English spelling was segar.^[4] The French diminutive gave cigarette.^[4][6] Compounds include cigar-box (1819) and cigar-store (1839),^[4] and the wooden cigar-store Indian is so called from 1879.^[4] The colloquial phrase close, but no cigar refers to a cigar given as a prize, an effort not good enough to win.^[6]

Timeline

• 1730 – the roll of tobacco.^[3][4][5]
• 1819 – cigar-box.^[4]
• 1839 – cigar-store.^[4]
• 1923 – the brown colour of a cigar.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A compact roll of cured tobacco leaves, wrapped in a tobacco leaf, for smoking.

Related words

• cigarette
• cigarillo
• cicada
• tobacco

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press