Etymology

marijuana

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Today it means: The inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect. Full definition →

Mexican Spanish marihuana
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The story

  1. Mexican Spanish · borrowed frommarihuana
  2. English todaymarijuana

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish marihuana, from mariguana. First attested in 1874 in the publications of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Altered by influence of a folk etymology involving the proper name María Juana (“Mary Jane”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.