also smoke-stack, "pipe of sheet-iron or other material through which smoke and gases are discharged into open air," 1833, from smoke (n.1) + stack (n.). Smoke-pipe in the same sense is by 1853.
Entries linking to smokestack
smoke n.1
late Old English smoca, smocca (rare) "visible fumes and volatile material given off by burning or smoldering substances," related to smeocan "give off smoke," from Proto-Germanic *smuk- (source also of Middle Dutch smooc, Dutch smook, Middle High German smouch, German Schmauch), from PIE root *smeug- "to smoke; smoke" (source also of Armenian mux "smoke," Greek smykhein "to burn with smoldering flame," Old Irish much, Welsh mwg "smoke").
The more usual noun was Old English smec, which became dialectal smeech. From late 14c. as "a puff, cloud, or column of smoke." Figurative use, of something unsubstantial," is by 1540s; in reference to an obscuring medium, 1560s.
There is no fyre without some smoke [Heywood, 1562]
In other forms the proverb dates to mid-15c.
Abusive meaning "Black person" is attested from 1913, American English. Smoke-eater "firefighter" is by c. 1930. Figurative phrase go up in smoke "be destroyed" (as if by fire) is from 1933 (an earlier figurative image was come to smoke, "come to nothing," c. 1600, with a different image in mind). Smoke-alarm "device giving warning of smoke" is by 1936; smoke-detector from 1957.
stack n.
c. 1300, "pile, heap, or group of things," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse stakkr "haystack" (cognate with Danish stak, Swedish stack "heap, stack"), from Proto-Germanic *stakon- "a stake," from PIE *stog- (source also of Old Church Slavonic stogu "heap," Russian stog "haystack," Lithuanian stokas "pillar"), variant of root *steg- (1) "pole, stick" (see stake (n.)). Meaning "set of shelves on which books are set out" is from 1879. Used of the chimneys of factories, locomotives, etc., since 1825. Of computer data from 1960.