tobacco

tobacco
tobacco (n.) 1580s, from Sp. tabaco, in part from an Arawakan (probably Taino) language of the Caribbean, said to mean "a roll of tobacco leaves" (according to Las Casas, 1552) or "a kind of pipe for smoking tobacco" (according to Oviedo, 1535). Scholars of Caribbean languages lean toward Las Casas' explanation. But Sp. tabaco (also It. tabacco) was a name of medicinal herbs from early 15c., from Arabic tabbaq, attested since 9c. as the name of various herbs. So the word may be a European one transferred to an American plant.
Cultivation in France began 1556 with an importation of seed by Andre Thevet; introduced in Spain 1558 by Francisco Fernandes. Tobacco Road as a mythical place representative of rural Southern U.S. poverty is from the title of Erskine Caldwell's 1932 novel.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Tobacco — To*bac co, n. [Sp. tabaco, fr. the Indian tabaco the tube or pipe in which the Indians or Caribbees smoked this plant. Some derive the word from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, where it was said to be first found by the Spaniards; others from the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tobacco — [tə bak′ō] n. pl. tobaccos [Sp tabaco < ?; perhaps an old Sp name transferred to the New World plant] 1. any of a genus (Nicotiana) of chiefly tropical American plants of the nightshade family, with hairy, sticky foliage and long tubed, white …   English World dictionary

  • tobacco — см. Приложение 1 (Nicotaia tabacum). (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • tobacco — tobacco. См. табаки. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • tobacco — has the plural form tobaccos …   Modern English usage

  • tobacco — ► NOUN (pl. tobaccos) ▪ a preparation of the dried and fermented nicotine rich leaves of an American plant, used for smoking or chewing. ORIGIN Spanish tabaco …   English terms dictionary

  • Tobacco — For the plant genus, see Nicotiana. For the American electronic musician, see Tobacco (musician). Not to be confused with Tabacco. Part of a series on …   Wikipedia

  • tobacco — tobaccoless, adj. /teuh bak oh/, n., pl. tobaccos, tobaccoes. 1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, esp. one of those species, as N. tabacum, whose leaves are prepared for smoking or chewing or as… …   Universalium

  • tobacco — n. 1) to grow, raise tobacco 2) to cure tobacco 3) to chew tobacco 4) strong tobacco 5) chewing tobacco 6) a plug of (chewing) tobacco * * * [tə bækəʊ] raise tobacco a plug of (chewing) tobacco chewing tobacco strong tobacco …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Tobacco —    Indigenous to the Americas, tobacco is a sacred and powerful plant in many indigenous cultures. Its intoxicating effects were well known and rarely used for recreational purposes. In some cultures, it was never smoked or ingested in sufficient …   Historical dictionary of shamanism

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