sigaretta Italian · revision 38814

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation, calque|attested=1845|origins=es cigarro}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /si.ɡaˈret.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sigaretta''' ''f'' (plural sigarette)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a diminutive, [[af|it|sigaro|-etta|t1=cigar]], formed on the model of [[fr|cigarette]], recorded in 1831.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Devoto calls it a calque of the French word.^(Devoto 1968) DEI derives it from French directly.^(DEI|3492)

+

+ The base [[sigaro]] came, probably through [[fr|cigare]] (1770), from [[es|cigarro]] (1610).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI explains the Spanish word as perhaps from [[m|es|cigarra|t=cicada]], from the likeness of a cigar to the insect's body.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini traces it to [[yua|zicar|t=to smoke]], with the form attracted to [[m|es|cigarra]].^(Nocentini 2010) The masculine diminutive [[sigaretto]] was formed in 1834, eleven years earlier.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the form ''cigaretta'' in 1845, in a work titled ''Il tabacco vendicato''.^(DELI 1999) In 1875 the Rigutini–Fanfani dictionary still described ''sigaretta'' as the same as ''spagnoletta'' and as little used in Tuscany.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Writers of the late 19th and 20th centuries use the word for the paper-rolled cigarette: in Carducci a man takes out a cigarette and lights it, and in Serao a troubled character cannot even smoke “his eternal cigarettes”.^(GDLI) Carlo Emilio Gadda wrote the dialect form ''sigheretta''.^(GDLI) The ''sigaretta medicinale'', made with medicinal leaves or powders, was smoked against bronchial asthma.^(GDLI)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ From 1960 the word is recorded for anything shaped like a cigarette, such as the chocolate cigarette.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) It also names a small spool of sewing thread, the same as ''spagnoletta'', and a device that ignites the fuel when a semi-diesel engine is started from cold.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) ''A sigaretta'' describes narrow, straight-cut trousers or skirts.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The ''sigaretta elettronica'' is the e-cigarette.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) Icelandic borrowed the word as [[is|sígaretta]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1831 – French ''cigarette'' is recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1834 – Guadagnoli uses the masculine ''sigaretto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1845 – ''Cigaretta'' is first recorded in Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1875 – Rigutini–Fanfani record ''sigaretta'' as little used in Tuscany.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1960 – The sense “object shaped like a cigarette” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|cigarette]]: a small cylinder of finely cut [[tabacco|alt=tobacco]] rolled in thin paper, for smoking: ''Si è acceso una sigaretta sul balcone.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(by extension)'' Anything shaped like a cigarette: ''sigaretta di cioccolato''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A small cardboard or plastic spool with sewing thread wound on it; [[spagnoletta]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(mechanics)'' A device that ignites the fuel when a semi-diesel engine is started from cold.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sigarettista]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sigaro]]

+ * [[sigaretto]]

+ * [[spagnoletta]]

+ * [[fr|cigarette]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Pantaloni a sigaretta'' are trousers that narrow slightly between the calf and the ankle.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}