Entry · catalog no. 2000
reefer
/ ˈriːfər /REE-fer
noun · Harlem / jazz circuit · 1930s
✓ Verified
1.
A marijuana cigarette; by extension, marijuana itself.
“He rolled a reefer on the fire escape before the second set.”
Origin & Attribution
Marijuana slang of the 1920s–30s jazz world, spoken on Harlem bandstands alongside "muggles" and "viper." Cab Calloway's orchestra cut "Have You Ever Met That Funny Reefer Man" in 1932, putting the word on record before the reefer-madness panic of the late 1930s criminalized both the plant and the people who named it. The etymology is debated — some trace it to Mexican Spanish "grifo" — but the word's life in American English ran through Black jazz musicians.
1920s
Marijuana slang on Harlem bandstands
1932
Calloway records "Reefer Man"
late 1930s
Criminalized amid the "reefer madness" panic
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Harlem / jazz circuit · 1930s
Spoken by
Black jazz musicians
$REEFERThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady98 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
74/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1928
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Cab Calloway, "Have You Ever Met That Funny Reefer Man" — song · 1932
web
■
+ Cite a sourceReefer Songs / jazz drug-slang catalogue — reference
web
See also