CIGAR

cigar, the common term for tobacco-leaf prepared for smoking by being rolled into a short cylinder tapering to a point at the end which is placed in the mouth, the other end, which is lighted, being usually cut square (see tobacco). the spanish _cigarro_ is of doubtful origin, possibly connected with _cigarra_, a cicada, from its resemblance to the body of that insect, or with _cigarral_, a word of arabic origin meaning a pleasure garden. the explanation that it comes from a cuban word for a certain species of tobacco is probably erroneous, since no native word of the kind is known. the diminutive, _cigarette_, denotes a roll of cut tobacco enclosed usually in thin paper, but sometimes also in tobacco-leaf or the husk of indian corn.