English
kif
Kif comes from Moroccan Arabic كيف ‘opiate’, and goes back to Arabic كَيْف ‘joy’.
- Arabicc. 500–presentكَيْفkayf‘joy’
- Moroccan Arabicmodernكيفkīf‘opiate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809kif
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Arabicc. 500–presentكَيْفkayf‘joy’
- Moroccan Arabicmodernكيفkīf‘opiate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809kif
Earliest quotation: 1809, James Grey Jackson: “The kief, which is the flower and seeds of…”
Every English word from Arabic كَيْف
Today it means
noun A kind of cannabis smoked in Morocco and Algeria, for its narcotic or intoxicating effects.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Arabic كَيْف / kif