Cannabis
/ˈkæn.ə.bɪs/noun
A hemp plant of the genus Cannabis, especially one cultivated for fiber, seed, or psychoactive resin.
Did you know?The word likely entered Greek from a much older Scythian or related Eurasian source, showing how a plant name could migrate along trade routes just like the plant itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European? / Pre-Greek substrate
Unknown
*kan(n)abis?
“A proposed ancient source for the plant name, exact origin uncertain.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κάνναβις (kánnabis)
“Hemp; the cannabis plant.”
Classical Latin
Latin
cannabis
“Hemp; cannabis.”
Old French
Old French
cannabis / chanvre
“Hemp.”
Middle English
English
canabys / canabis
“Hemp; later the plant known as cannabis.”
Modern English
English
cannabis
“The hemp plant or its psychoactive drug preparations.”
Explore more surprising origins