Pétun
/ˈpɛtən/noun
An archaic English word for tobacco, especially tobacco used for smoking.
Did you know?The flower name petunia ultimately comes from the same South American Indigenous root as pétun because early botanists noticed its resemblance to tobacco.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 16th century
Tupi
petyma
“Tobacco; a plant used for smoking”
16th Century
Portuguese
petum
“Tobacco, borrowed from a Tupi language of Brazil”
16th Century
French
pétun
“Tobacco, especially Brazilian tobacco”
17th Century
English
petun
“Tobacco; an archaic or dialectal form”
Modern English
English
petun
“A rare historical term for tobacco”