cigarette
Meaning
a thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco rolled in paper for smoking.
a similar roll of another substance, such as cannabis.
Structure
Usage
he lit a cigarette and stared out the window.
the smell of stale cigarette smoke lingered in the room.
she is trying to quit smoking cigarettes.
Etymology
the word 'cigarette' is a direct borrowing from french, where it is a diminutive form of 'cigare' (cigar). the french 'cigare' itself was adopted from the spanish 'cigarro', a term of uncertain but likely new world origin, possibly from the mayan 'sik'ar' (to smoke). the addition of the french diminutive suffix '-ette' literally creates the meaning 'a little cigar'. this term entered english in the early 19th century, precisely describing the smaller, paper-wrapped form of tobacco compared to its larger, leaf-wrapped predecessor.
Analysis
cigar (spanish, via french, meaning 'cigar'); ette (french diminutive suffix, meaning 'small').