Meanings
plural marijuanas · alternative dated marihuana
- uncountableusuallyThe inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect.
After smoking a bowl of that fine marijuana, they ate some brownies.
3 more examples
You could smell tea, weed, I mean marijuana, floating in the air, together with the chili beans and beer.
1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, chapter 13, in On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC, part 1Exactly. Marijuana is something we just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor. “You know what? Sure, I’ve decided I’m fine with that.”
2017 April 2, “Marijuana”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 7, John Oliver (actor), via HBOSunday is 420 day, when lovers of marijuana get together to celebrate their fondness for weed.
2025 April 20, Sandee LaMotte, “Marijuana hospital visits linked to dementia diagnosis within 5 years, study finds”, in CNN - uncountableusuallyThe hemp plant itself, Cannabis sativa.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna strong-smelling plant whose dried leaves can be smoked for a pleasant effect or pain reduction
nounthe most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Mexican Spanishmarihuana
- Englishmarijuana
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”).
More words from Mexican Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans dagga, marijuana
- daggacannabis drug
- marijuanacannabis drug
- daggaplantcannabis plant
Ancient Greek κάνναβις
- κάνναβις (kánnabis)cannabis plant
Arabic مَارِهْوَانَا, حَشِيش
- مَارِهْوَانَا (mārihwānā)cannabis drug
- حَشِيش (ḥašīš)cannabis drug
- قِنَّب هِنْدِيّ (qinnab hindiyy)cannabis plant
Bengali গাঁজা
- গাঁজা (gãja)cannabis drug
Bulgarian марихуа́на
- марихуа́на (marihuána)cannabis drug
Catalan marihuana
- marihuanacannabis drug
Chinese Cantonese 大麻, 大麻
- 大麻 (daai⁶ maa⁴)cannabis drug
- 大麻 (daai⁶ maa⁴)cannabis plant
Chinese Mandarin 大麻, 大麻
- 大麻 (dàmá)cannabis drug
- 大麻 (dàmá)cannabis plant
- 線麻 /线麻 (xiànmá)cannabis plant
Czech marihuana, konopí
- marihuanacannabis drug
- konopícannabis plant
Danish marijuana, cannabis
- marijuanacannabis drug
- cannabiscannabis plant
Dutch marihuana
- marihuanacannabis drug
Esperanto mariĥuano, kanabo
- mariĥuanocannabis drug
- kanabocannabis plant
Estonian marihuaana
- marihuaanacannabis drug
Finnish marihuana, hamppu
- marihuanacannabis drug
- hamppucannabis plant
French marijuana, marihuana
- marijuanacannabis drug
- marihuanacannabis drug
German Marihuana, Haschisch
- Marihuanacannabis drug
- Haschischcannabis drug
- Hanfcannabis plant
- Cannabiscannabis plant
Greek μαριχουάνα, κάνναβη
- μαριχουάνα (marichouána)cannabis drug
- κάνναβη (kánnavi)cannabis plant
Hawaiian paka lōlō, paka lōlō
- paka lōlōcannabis drug
- paka lōlōcannabis plant
Hebrew מָרִיחוּאָנָה
- מָרִיחוּאָנָה (marikhu'ána)cannabis drug
Hindi गांजा, मारिजुआना
- गांजा (gāñjā)cannabis drug
- मारिजुआना (mārijuānā)cannabis drug
Hungarian marihuána, kender
- marihuánacannabis drug
- kendercannabis drug
Icelandic marijúana, gras
- marijúanacannabis drug
- grascannabis drug
Indonesian ganja
- ganjacannabis drug
Italian erba, marijuana
- erbacannabis drug
- marijuanacannabis drug
Japanese マリワナ, マリファナ
- マリワナ (mariwana)cannabis drug
- マリファナ (marifana)cannabis drug
- ガンジャ (ganja)cannabis drug
Korean 마리화나, 대마
- 마리화나 (marihwana)cannabis drug
- 대마 (daema)cannabis drug
Latin cannabis, cannabis
- cannabiscannabis drug
- cannabiscannabis plant
Latvian marihuāna, kaņepe
- marihuānacannabis drug
- kaņepecannabis drug
Lithuanian marihuana, kanapė
- marihuanacannabis drug
- kanapėcannabis drug
Malay ganja
- ganjacannabis drug
Māori taru rauhea, tarukino
- taru rauheacannabis drug
- tarukinocannabis drug
- taru rauheacannabis plant
Norwegian Bokmål marihuana, hasjisj
- marihuanacannabis drug
- hasjisjcannabis drug
- hasjcannabis drug
- hampcannabis plant
- cannabiscannabis plant
- kannabiscannabis plant
Persian شاهدانه, ماریجوانا
- شاهدانه (šâh-dâne)cannabis drug
- ماریجوانا (mâri-juânâ)cannabis drug
- ماریجوانا (mârijuânâ)cannabis drug
- علف ('alaf)cannabis drug
Polish marihuana
- marihuanacannabis drug
Portuguese maconha
- maconhacannabis drug
Punjabi ਗਾਂਜਾ
- ਗਾਂਜਾ (gāñjā)cannabis drug
Romanian marijuana
- marijuanacannabis drug
Russian марихуа́на, план
- марихуа́на (marixuána)cannabis drug
- план (plan)cannabis drug
- анаша́ (anašá)cannabis drug
Scottish Gaelic cainb, cainb
- cainbcannabis drug
- cainbcannabis plant
- còrcachcannabis plant
Slovak marihuana, konopa
- marihuanacannabis drug
- konopacannabis plant
Spanish marihuana, mariguana
- marihuanacannabis drug
- mariguanacannabis drug
- bayercannabis drug
- cáñamocannabis plant
Swahili bangi
- bangicannabis drug
Tagalog marihuwana, tsongke
- marihuwanacannabis drug
- tsongkecannabis drug
- marijuanacannabis drug
Tamil கஞ்சா
- கஞ்சா (kañcā)cannabis drug
Thai กัญชา, กัญชา
- กัญชา (gan-chaa)cannabis drug
- กัญชา (gan-chaa)cannabis plant
Turkish esrar
- esrarcannabis drug
Ukrainian марихуа́на
- марихуа́на (maryxuána)cannabis drug
Urdu گانجا, بھنگ
- گانجا (gānjā)cannabis drug
- بھنگ (bhaṅg)cannabis drug
- بھانگ (bhāṅg)cannabis drug
- شاہدانہ (śāh-dāna)cannabis drug
- حشیش (haśīś)cannabis drug
- بنگ (baṅg)cannabis drug
- قنب (qunnib)cannabis drug
Vietnamese cần sa, marijuana
- cần sacannabis drug
- marijuanacannabis drug
Yiddish מעראַוואַנאַ, מאַריכואַנע
- מעראַוואַנאַ (meravana)cannabis drug
- מאַריכואַנע (marikhuane)cannabis drug
Zulu insangu
- insangucannabis drug
Cite this entry
marijuana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marijuana
“marijuana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marijuana. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marijuana,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marijuana.
Source: marijuana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.