zolnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zol mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zol. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
This word is used in South African English.
zol has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
How common is the noun zol?
| 1950 | 0.011 |
| 1960 | 0.012 |
| 1970 | 0.012 |
| 1980 | 0.013 |
| 1990 | 0.014 |
| 2000 | 0.015 |
| 2010 | 0.013 |
How is the noun zol pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
South African English
Where does the noun zol come from?
Earliest known use
1940s
The earliest known use of the noun zol is in the 1940s.
OED's earliest evidence for zol is from 1946.
zol is of unknown origin.
Nearby entries
- Zoilist, n.1594–
- Zoilitical, adj.1665
- Zoilous, adj.1577–
- Zoilus, n.1565–
- zoisite, n.1805–
- zoism, n.1900–
- zoist, n.1843–
- zoistic, adj.1849–
- zoite, n.1963–
- -zoite, comb. form
- zol, n.1946–
- Zolaesque, adj.1886–
- Zolaism, n.1882–
- Zolaist, n.1886–
- Zolaize, v.1886–
- Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, n.1956–
- Zöllner, n.1890–
- zollverein, n.1843–
- zolotnik, n.1783–
- zombie, n.1788–
- zombie apocalypse, n.1982–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
- 1955
Zol, n. A marijuana cigarette.
American Speech vol. 30 88
Meaning & use
- 1.1946–A preparation of the marijuana plant, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug; esp. a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem of the plant, sometimes mixed with tobacco, in a form for smoking.
- 1946
Dagga..laughing skuif..torpedo, aap, zol.
in E. Partridge, Dictionary of Underworld (1950) 399/1 - 1988
They used to smoke zol, or dope, and jol, or party, but these days they're ‘turned on to free enterprise’.
R. Malan in Granta Autumn 246 - 2004
An architecture student..asked if I had sampled any zol on my trip... ‘You know,’ he beamed, ‘grass, dope, ganja, green, the sacred herb, skunk.’
D. Smiedt, Are we there Yet? (2007) xi. 210 - 2024
You might find yourself taking a pull on a bottleneck packed with inferior Cape Town zol in a back alley.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) (Nexis) 19 April
the world physical sensation use of drugs and poison an intoxicating drug [nouns] a) narcotic drug(s) marijuana or cannabis- bhang1598–Chiefly Indian English. A paste prepared from the leaves and seeds of the cannabis plant and eaten for its intoxicating properties; a drink prepared…
- hashish1598–Cannabis resin, used esp. as a recreational drug. Also (less commonly): a dried preparation of the flowering tops or other parts of the cannabis…
- cannabis1765–As a mass noun: a dried preparation of the flowering tops or other parts of the cannabis plant, or a resin extracted from it, smoked or consumed…
- ganja1800–A preparation of Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa, variety indica), strongly intoxicating and narcotic.
- Indian hemp1803–A wide-leaved form of cannabis, Cannabis sativa subsp. indica, formerly used as a source of hemp fibre and now the chief source of the…
- sabzi1804–The leaves and various other parts of the cannabis plant, Cannabis indica, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug (also called bhang)…
- cannabin1843–A resin or resinous extract with psychoactive properties, obtained from the cannabis plant; = cannabis resin, n.
- deiamba1851–Congo tobacco; = hemp, n. 4.
- charas1860–The resinous exudation of the hemp-plant (Cannabis indica), used in India as an intoxicating drug.
- liamba1861–Hemp, Cannabis sativa. (Cf. bhang, n., hemp, n.)
- hemp1870–A narcotic drug obtained from the resinous exudation of the Indian hemp; bhang; hashish.
- cannabis resin1871–A brown resin secreted by the cannabis plant, esp. a compressed form of this smoked as a recreational drug.
- marijuana1874–(A preparation of) the plant, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug; esp. a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem…
- kef1878–(In Morocco and Algeria, in form kief, keef.) Indian hemp or other substance smoked to produce this state. Also attributive.
- locoweed1898–Originally and chiefly North American slang.= marijuana, n.
- weed1917–slang (originally U.S.). The cannabis plant, Cannabis sativa; esp. (as a mass noun) this prepared or used esp. as a recreational drug. Cf. grass, n.¹…
- muggle1922–In singular and (usually) plural: marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette; a joint.
- Mary Ann1925–U.S. Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette. Cf. Mary Jane, n.²
- mootah1926–Marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
- Mary Jane1928–Marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
- Mary Warner1933–= Mary Jane, n.²
- Mary and Johnny1935–= marijuana, n.
- Indian hay1936–Marijuana.
- mu1936–Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
- mezz1937–Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
- moocah1937–Marijuana.
- grass1938–slang (originally U.S.). Cannabis, esp. a preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem of the plant in a form for smoking.
- jive1938–slang. a. Marijuana, or a marijuana cigarette. b. Heroin. c. More generally: drugs.
- pot1938–= cannabis, n. 2.
- mary1940–Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
- reefer1944–Cannabis.
- rope1944–slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
- smoke1946–Marijuana.
- zol1946–A preparation of the marijuana plant, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug; esp. a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering…
- hash1948–Cannabis resin, used esp. as a recreational drug; = hashish, n.
- pod1952–slang. Marijuana. Cf. pot, n.⁵ Now rare.
- gear1954–slang (chiefly British). Drugs, narcotics; (also) a particular drug, esp. marijuana or heroin.
- green1957–slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana or cannabis.
- smoking weed1957–a. = bearberry, n. 3; cf. kinnikinnick, n. 2; b. = cannabis, n. 1; cf. marijuana, n. 1.
- boo1959–Marijuana. Also attributive, as boo smoke, etc.
- Acapulco1965–In full Acapulco gold. A variety of marijuana grown in the Acapulco region (see quot. 1965).
- doobie1967–A marijuana cigarette; (also) marijuana.
- Mary J1967–= Mary Jane, n.²
- cheeba1971–Originally: a potent variety of Colombian marijuana. Later more generally: marijuana of any kind. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
- Maui Wowie1971–slang. Maui Wowie n. also Maui Wowee, etc. a potent form of marijuana originating from Maui.
- 4201974–Marijuana; the action of smoking marijuana. Frequently attributive.
- Maui1977–slang. Short for Maui Wowie n. at sense I.2.
- pakalolo1977–A potent variety of marijuana grown in Hawaii; (also) marijuana of any kind.
- spliff1977–Cannabis.
- draw1979–British slang. As a mass noun: cannabis; esp. this prepared or used esp. as a recreational drug.
- kush1979–As a mass noun: a form of cannabis made from a particular variety or strain of the indica subspecies of the cannabis plant, Cannabis sativa indica…
- resin1980–spec. = cannabis resin, n.
- bud1982–slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana.
- skunk1982–slang. Originally: a potent strong-smelling strain of the cannabis plant; (now chiefly) any of a number of especially potent strains of cannabis; the…
- swag1986–slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana, esp. of low quality (in quot. 1986, fake marijuana); = schwag, n. A.1.
- skunk weed1987–slang. Any of a number of potent strains of cannabis; the drug obtained from such a plant; = skunk, n. 3.
- puff1989–British slang. Marijuana.
- Indo1991–Marijuana.
- chronic1992–slang (originally U.S., in the language of rap and hip-hop). Marijuana; spec. (a type of) high-grade or particularly potent marijuana. Also with the.
- schwag1993–slang. Marijuana, esp. of low quality; = swag, n.¹ additions b.
- hydro1995–Hydroponically grown marijuana, often regarded as more potent than varieties grown in soil.
- skunk cannabis1995–= skunk, n. 3.
- 2.1949–A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
- 1949
‘The tree of knowledge,’ a blue-coat would say, when the zol had gone the rounds for the last time.
H. C. Bosman, Cold Stone Jug iii. 52 - 1968
He was the only source of the brown paper used for rolling zols. (Horseshoe or Springbok tobacco).
A. Fugard, Letter September in Notebooks (1983) 176 - 1988
Probably Prince was in the bar of the Club one block away, splitting his arm in the toilets, slipping you zols with both ends tucked up for a rand each, great stuff, Durban Poison.
S. Gray, Time of our Darkness x. 139 - 2014
No, well, he was smoking zols, drinking like a fish. Talking kak to the other gents.
M. Fowler & I. Dixon, translation of K. Brynard, Weeping Waters (2018) liv. 277
the world physical sensation use of drugs and poison an intoxicating drug [nouns] a) narcotic drug(s) marijuana or cannabis cigarette- stick1918–Chiefly colloquial. A cigarette or cigar; spec. a marijuana cigarette.
- spliff1929–A cannabis cigarette. Also: a cigarette containing a mixture of cannabis and tobacco.
- weed1929–slang (originally U.S.). A cannabis cigarette, a joint.
- reefer1931–A cannabis cigarette.
- joint1935–A marijuana cigarette; also, hypodermic equipment used by drug addicts.
- muggler1935–A marijuana cigarette; a joint.
- juju1940–Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
- charge1941–slang. Originally U.S. Marijuana. Also more generally: any narcotic or hallucinogenic drug.
- mezzroll1944–A marijuana cigarette.
- bomb1946–slang. A cigarette containing a large amount of cannabis; = bomber, n. 5a.
- panatela1946–slang. A cigarette made of marijuana from Central or South America. Also more generally: marijuana.
- zol1949–A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
- bomber1950–slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A hand-rolled cigarette containing cannabis. Now somewhat dated.
- number1963–colloquial. A person or thing. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A marijuana cigarette; an amount of marijuana obtained from a dealer.
- doobie1967–A marijuana cigarette; (also) marijuana.
- smoke1967–A cigar or cigarette; a marijuana cigarette. Also figurative.
- cheeba1971–Originally: a potent variety of Colombian marijuana. Later more generally: marijuana of any kind. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
- Thai stick1976–Of or pertaining to Thailand, its people, or its language; Thai silk, wild silk woven in Thailand according to traditional designs, often with…
- blunt1988–A cigar whose wrapper has been emptied of tobacco and filled with marijuana.
- bifter1989–A cigarette; (sometimes) spec. (esp. outside Liverpool) a marijuana cigarette.
- jazz cigarette1992–A marijuana cigarette.
the world physical sensation use of drugs and poison tobacco smoking articles or materials used in smoking [nouns] thing which may be smoked cigarette- cigarette1831–A small cigar made of a little finely-cut tobacco rolled up in thin paper, tobacco-leaf, or maize-husk.
- cigarito1832–A cigarette.
- paper cigar1833–A cigarette.
- papelito1845–In Spain and Spanish-speaking areas: a cigarette, esp. one which is hand-rolled.
- coffin-nailc1865–a. A nail used in making a coffin; b. slang (originally U.S.), a cigarette (cf. nail, n. II.7d).
- fag1885–A cigarette; (in early use) spec. †a cheap one (obsolete).
- butt1893–U.S. colloquial. A cigarette. Cf. sense I.3b.i.
- pill1901–slang (originally U.S.). A cigarette.
- ciggy1906–= cigarette, n.
- scag1915–A cigarette; a cigarette stub.
- nail1925–Extended uses. Chiefly U.S. slang. A cigarette. Cf. coffin-nail, n. (b); a nail in the coffin at sense II.4c.
- quirly1932–A cigarette, esp. one that is hand-rolled.
- tab1934–A cigarette. northern dialect and slang.
- burn1941–A ‘smoke’; tobacco, esp. a cigarette; to have a burn: to smoke a cigarette. slang.
- draw1946–slang. A cigarette. Later also: a cannabis cigarette.
- tube1946–A cigarette. slang.
- zol1949–A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
- snout1950–A cigarette.
- cancer stick1958–A cigarette.
- straight1959–slang. A cigarette; spec. (a) An unfiltered cigarette; (b) a cigarette made with tobacco, as opposed to one made with marijuana; (c) an ordinary…
- square1970–Slang uses. U.S. (originally and chiefly in African American usage). A cigarette containing tobacco, as opposed to one containing marijuana.
- bifter1989–A cigarette; (sometimes) spec. (esp. outside Liverpool) a marijuana cigarette.
- lung dart1990–A cigarette; cf. dart, n. additions.
- dart2000–colloquial (chiefly Canadian and Australian). A cigarette. Cf. lung dart, n.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
South African English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xgogga
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
- ɬlekgotla
Afrikaans uses a sound similar to /t/ and /k/ but made in the same part of the mouth as /j/, which may appear in some speakers’ pronunciations in English, but the OED reflects their common anglicized forms of /tʃ/ or /k/. Similarly, African click sounds are shown as their common anglicized forms, highly variable but often as /g/, /k/ and/or /h/.
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used as in British and US English.
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- edress
- ætrap
- ʌstrut
- ɒlot, cloth
- ɔːthought, north, force
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- ɑːbath, palm, start
- ɜːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- aɪpride
- eɪface
- ɔɪvoice
- əletter
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
The symbols used for several of the South African vowels are less precise than their use in other varieties. For example, in some words the /ɪ/ vowel will sound closer to /ə/ whilst still being in a stressed syllable. Some vowels reflected as /ɒ/ may sound similar to /ɔː/ but significantly shorter. Some vowels transcribed as /e/ may sound longer, or some transcribed as /eɪ/ sound more steady (a sound like /eː/). In some words, /ʌ/ and /æ/ may also sound very similar to each other.
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige
Vowels
- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot
Forms
Variant forms
- 1900s–zol, zoll
Frequency
zol typically occurs about 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zol is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zol, n., 1950–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
| Decade | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.011 |
| 1960 | 0.012 |
| 1970 | 0.012 |
| 1980 | 0.013 |
| 1990 | 0.014 |
| 2000 | 0.015 |
| 2010 | 0.013 |
Frequency of zol, n., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 0.036 |
| 2019 | 0.036 |
| 2020 | 0.035 |
| 2021 | 0.037 |
| 2022 | 0.036 |
| 2023 | 0.032 |
| 2024 | 0.031 |