中英語のsmoke、煙、古英語のsmoca、煙、原ゲルマン語*smukona、煙、PIE*smeugh、煙から、おそらく語源的には匂いに関連している。スモーキング、喫煙などに由来する。
There is no fyre without some smoke [Heywood, 1562]The more usual noun was Old English smec, which became dialectal smeech. Abusive meaning "black person" attested from 1913, American English. Smoke-eater "firefighter" is c. 1930. Figurative phrase go up in smoke "be destroyed" (as if by fire) is from 1933. Smoke-alarm first attested 1936; smoke-detector from 1957.