tobacco

TOBAC'CO, noun [so named from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, in Spanish America, where it was first found by the Spaniards.] A plant, a native of America, of the genus Nicotiana, much used for smoking and chewing and in snuff. As a medicine, it is narcotic. tobacco has a strong disagreeable smell, and an acrid taste. When first used it sometimes occasions vomiting; but the practice of using it in any form, soon conquers distaste, and forms a relish for it that is strong and almost unconquerable.