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tobacco

 - 4 dictionary results

to⋅bac⋅co

  [tuh-bak-oh]
Use tobacco in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cos, -coes.
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 snuff.
2. the prepared leaves, as used in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes.
3. any product or products made from such leaves.
4. any of various similar plants of other genera.
Origin:
1525–35; < Sp tabaco, perh. < Arawak: a pipe for smoking the plant, or roll of leaves smoked, or the plant

Related forms:
to⋅bac⋅co⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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to·bac·co   (tə-bāk'ō)   
n.   pl. to·bac·cos or to·bac·coes

  1. Any of various plants of the genus Nicotiana, especially N. tabacum, native to tropical America and widely cultivated for their leaves, which are used primarily for smoking.

  2. The leaves of these plants, dried and processed chiefly for use in cigarettes, cigars, or snuff or for smoking in pipes.

  3. Products made from these plants.

  4. The habit of smoking tobacco: I gave up tobacco.

  5. A crop of tobacco.


[Spanish tabaco, possibly of Caribbean origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tobacco 
1588, 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 c.1410, 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: to·bac·co
Pronunciation: t&-'bak-(")O
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cos
1 : any plant ofthe genus Nicotiana; especially : an annual So. American herb (N. tabacum) cultivated for its leaves
2 : the leaves of cultivated tobacco prepared foruse in smoking or chewing or as snuff
3 : manufactured products of tobacco; also : the use of tobacco as a practice
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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