  We propose a stellar origin for the central dust clouds observed in most
giant elliptical galaxies. Dusty gas ejected from evolving red giant stars in E
or cD galaxies can cool rapidly even after entering the hot, X-ray emitting
gas. Cooling by thermal collisions with dust grains can be faster than either
the dynamical time in the galactic potential or the grain sputtering time. Some
grains survive in the cooled gas. Dusty stellar outflows cool more efficiently
in the central regions where the stellar metallicity is higher. Mergers with
gas and dust-rich dwarf galaxies may occasionally occur but are not required to
explain the observed dust clouds.
