Etymologically
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cigarette

Etymology and origin of the French word cigarette

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1830, Bottin
Ultimate origin
Spanish (cigarro)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French cigare
French cigarette
English cigarette

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /si.ɡa.ʁɛt/[1]

Forms

cigarette f (plural cigarettes)[1]

Etymology

It is from French cigare + -ette.[2][3][1] Cigare (1770, earlier cigarro 1723) is borrowed from Spanish cigarro, very probably from a Mayan word meaning “to smoke”, according to Bloch and Wartburg.[3] The new word replaced the forms cigarito and cigarret.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1830, in the Almanach du commerce de Paris, apparently for a cigar case; in 1831 Balzac uses it for a small cylinder of tobacco rolled in thin paper, in a Latin American setting.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed rare before 1840, and was still written cigaret in 1834.[5][6] It spread between 1840 and 1860 with the making of rolls of cut tobacco wrapped in thin paper, rolled by hand or made in factories, at first called toutes cousues in popular French.[4] As this became the commonest way to smoke, the word grew more frequent than cigare and gathered many phrases (cigarette blonde, brune, à filtre) and slang synonyms such as cibiche (1881) and clope.[4] In pharmacy, cigarettes of plants other than tobacco were prescribed for asthma (1842).[7] In African French, de la cigarette is rolling tobacco.[4]

English took cigarette in 1835, in American English.[8]

Timeline

  • 1723 – Cigarro is recorded in French;[3] cigare follows in 1770.[3]
  • 1830 – Cigarette appears, apparently for a cigar case.[2][4]
  • 1831 – Balzac uses it for a small roll of tobacco.[2]
  • 1835 – English borrows the word.[8]
  • 1840–1860 – Paper-wrapped cigarettes spread and the word becomes common.[4]
  • 1881 – The slang cibiche is recorded.[4]
  • 1887 – Porte-cigarettes “cigarette case” is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cigarette, a small roll of cut tobacco wrapped in thin paper: rouler, allumer une cigarette.[6][2]
  2. Cigarette russe, or simply cigarette: a thin rolled biscuit.[6]
  3. In apposition: pantalon cigarette, straight, narrow-legged trousers.[6]
  4. (familiar; trademark) A fast offshore powerboat.[6]

Word family

  • cigarettier
  • porte-cigarettes
  • fume-cigarette

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cigarette.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cigarette. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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