Mary Jane

[Art Goodtimes]

jesse

hmmm. the "perhaps" from the OED seems to preserve the
uncertainty.

i did realize that MaryJane is simply the translation of the Spanish
name for cannabis. but the on-line etymological dictionary doesn't help
much:

marijuana
1918, alt. by influence of Sp. proper name Maria Juana "Mary
Jane" from mariguan (1894), from Mex.Sp. marihuana, of
uncertain origin.
    "Marijuana ... makes you sensitive. Courtesy has a great
    deal to do with being sensitive. Unfortunately marijuana
    makes you the kind of sensitive where you insist on
    everyone listening to the drum solo in Iron Butterfly's
    'In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida' fifty or sixty times." [P.J.
    O'Rourke, "Modern Manners," 1983]

artg

On 30 Dec 2004 at 8:49, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> ----------------------- Sender:       American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower
> <jester at PANIX.COM> Subject:      Re: Mary Jane
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> On Thu, Dec 30, 2004 at 04:29:49AM -0700, Art Goodtimes wrote:
> > i've long wondered as to the origin of the term "Mary Jane" for
> > cannabis. all the dictionaries i've checked say "origin uncertain".
> > is it?
>
> Hadn't realized that anyone regarded it as of uncertain origin. OED
> summarizes things as:
>
> [Alteration of MARIJUANA n. after the female forename Mary
> Jane (see MARY JANE n.1), perhaps arising from the folk
> etymology of Mexican Spanish marihuana from the personal name
> Maria-Juana (see discussion s.v. MARIJUANA n.). Cf. MARY AND
> JOHNNY n., MARY ANN n. 2, MARY WARNER n., and MARY n.2]
>
> Best,
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED