zol, n.

zol
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zol_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2025

# 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

tobacco (1940s) drug use (1940s)

### How common is the noun zol?

About 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

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

/zɒl/
zol

#### U.S. English

/zɑl/
zahl

#### South African English

/zɒl/

### 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

1. Zoilist, n. 1594–
2. Zoilitical, adj. 1665
3. Zoilous, adj. 1577–
4. Zoilus, n. 1565–
5. zoisite, n. 1805–
6. zoism, n. 1900–
7. zoist, n. 1843–
8. zoistic, adj. 1849–
9. zoite, n. 1963–
10. -zoite, comb. form
11. zol, n.1946–
12. Zolaesque, adj. 1886–
13. Zolaism, n. 1882–
14. Zolaist, n. 1886–
15. Zolaize, v. 1886–
16. Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, n. 1956–
17. Zöllner, n. 1890–
18. zollverein, n. 1843–
19. zolotnik, n. 1783–
20. zombie, n. 1788–
21. zombie apocalypse, n. 1982–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of unknown origin.
Origin unknown…
Origin unknown.

### Notes

It is unclear whether (or how) the following is related, listed in a glossary of drug-related vocabulary used in the border region between the United States and Mexico:

1. 1955

   > Zol, n. A marijuana cigarette.

   American Speech vol. 30 88

Afrikaans zol and Xhosa izoli are < English.

## Meaning & use

South African colloquial.

1. 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.
   1. 1946

      > Dagga..laughing skuif..torpedo, aap, zol.

      in E. Partridge, Dictionary of Underworld (1950) 399/1
   2. 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
   3. 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
   4. 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
   tobacco drug use South African English colloquial and slang
   1. bhang 1598–
      Chiefly Indian English. A paste prepared from the leaves and seeds of the cannabis plant and eaten for its intoxicating properties; a drink prepared…
   2. hashish 1598–
      Cannabis resin, used esp. as a recreational drug. Also (less commonly): a dried preparation of the flowering tops or other parts of the cannabis…
   3. cannabis 1765–
      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…
   4. ganja 1800–
      A preparation of Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa, variety indica), strongly intoxicating and narcotic.
   5. Indian hemp 1803–
      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…
   6. sabzi 1804–
      The leaves and various other parts of the cannabis plant, Cannabis indica, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug (also called bhang)…
   7. cannabin 1843–
      A resin or resinous extract with psychoactive properties, obtained from the cannabis plant; = cannabis resin, n.
   8. deiamba 1851–
      Congo tobacco; = hemp, n. 4.
   9. charas 1860–
      The resinous exudation of the hemp-plant (Cannabis indica), used in India as an intoxicating drug.
   10. liamba 1861–
       Hemp, Cannabis sativa. (Cf. bhang, n., hemp, n.)
   11. hemp 1870–
       A narcotic drug obtained from the resinous exudation of the Indian hemp; bhang; hashish.
   12. cannabis resin 1871–
       A brown resin secreted by the cannabis plant, esp. a compressed form of this smoked as a recreational drug.
   13. marijuana 1874–
       (A preparation of) the plant, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug; esp. a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem…
   14. kef 1878–
       (In Morocco and Algeria, in form kief, keef.) Indian hemp or other substance smoked to produce this state. Also attributive.
   15. locoweed 1898–
       Originally and chiefly North American slang.= marijuana, n.
   16. weed 1917–
       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…
   17. muggle 1922–
       In singular and (usually) plural: marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette; a joint.
   18. Mary Ann 1925–
       U.S. Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette. Cf. Mary Jane, n.²
   19. mootah 1926–
       Marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
   20. Mary Jane 1928–
       Marijuana. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
   21. Mary Warner 1933–
       = Mary Jane, n.²
   22. Mary and Johnny 1935–
       = marijuana, n.
   23. Indian hay 1936–
       Marijuana.
   24. mu 1936–
       Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
   25. mezz 1937–
       Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
   26. moocah 1937–
       Marijuana.
   27. grass 1938–
       slang (originally U.S.). Cannabis, esp. a preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem of the plant in a form for smoking.
   28. jive 1938–
       slang. a. Marijuana, or a marijuana cigarette. b. Heroin. c. More generally: drugs.
   29. pot 1938–
       = cannabis, n. 2.
   30. mary 1940–
       Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
   31. reefer 1944–
       Cannabis.
   32. rope 1944–
       slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
   33. smoke 1946–
       Marijuana.
   34. zol 1946–
       A preparation of the marijuana plant, used as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug; esp. a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering…
   35. hash 1948–
       Cannabis resin, used esp. as a recreational drug; = hashish, n.
   36. pod 1952–
       slang. Marijuana. Cf. pot, n.⁵ Now rare.
   37. gear 1954–
       slang (chiefly British). Drugs, narcotics; (also) a particular drug, esp. marijuana or heroin.
   38. green 1957–
       slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana or cannabis.
   39. smoking weed 1957–
       a. = bearberry, n. 3; cf. kinnikinnick, n. 2; b. = cannabis, n. 1; cf. marijuana, n. 1.
   40. boo 1959–
       Marijuana. Also attributive, as boo smoke, etc.
   41. Acapulco 1965–
       In full Acapulco gold. A variety of marijuana grown in the Acapulco region (see quot. 1965).
   42. doobie 1967–
       A marijuana cigarette; (also) marijuana.
   43. Mary J 1967–
       = Mary Jane, n.²
   44. cheeba 1971–
       Originally: a potent variety of Colombian marijuana. Later more generally: marijuana of any kind. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
   45. Maui Wowie 1971–
       slang. Maui Wowie n. also Maui Wowee, etc. a potent form of marijuana originating from Maui.
   46. 420 1974–
       Marijuana; the action of smoking marijuana. Frequently attributive.
   47. Maui 1977–
       slang. Short for Maui Wowie n. at sense I.2.
   48. pakalolo 1977–
       A potent variety of marijuana grown in Hawaii; (also) marijuana of any kind.
   49. spliff 1977–
       Cannabis.
   50. draw 1979–
       British slang. As a mass noun: cannabis; esp. this prepared or used esp. as a recreational drug.
   51. kush 1979–
       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…
   52. resin 1980–
       spec. = cannabis resin, n.
   53. bud 1982–
       slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana.
   54. skunk 1982–
       slang. Originally: a potent strong-smelling strain of the cannabis plant; (now chiefly) any of a number of especially potent strains of cannabis; the…
   55. swag 1986–
       slang (originally U.S.). Marijuana, esp. of low quality (in quot. 1986, fake marijuana); = schwag, n. A.1.
   56. skunk weed 1987–
       slang. Any of a number of potent strains of cannabis; the drug obtained from such a plant; = skunk, n. 3.
   57. puff 1989–
       British slang. Marijuana.
   58. Indo 1991–
       Marijuana.
   59. chronic 1992–
       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.
   60. schwag 1993–
       slang. Marijuana, esp. of low quality; = swag, n.¹ additions b.
   61. hydro 1995–
       Hydroponically grown marijuana, often regarded as more potent than varieties grown in soil.
   62. skunk cannabis 1995–
       = skunk, n. 3.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1949–
   A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
   1. 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
   2. 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
   3. 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
   4. 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
   tobacco drug use South African English colloquial and slang
   1. stick 1918–
      Chiefly colloquial. A cigarette or cigar; spec. a marijuana cigarette.
   2. spliff 1929–
      A cannabis cigarette. Also: a cigarette containing a mixture of cannabis and tobacco.
   3. weed 1929–
      slang (originally U.S.). A cannabis cigarette, a joint.
   4. reefer 1931–
      A cannabis cigarette.
   5. joint 1935–
      A marijuana cigarette; also, hypodermic equipment used by drug addicts.
   6. muggler 1935–
      A marijuana cigarette; a joint.
   7. juju 1940–
      Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette.
   8. charge 1941–
      slang. Originally U.S. Marijuana. Also more generally: any narcotic or hallucinogenic drug.
   9. mezzroll 1944–
      A marijuana cigarette.
   10. bomb 1946–
       slang. A cigarette containing a large amount of cannabis; = bomber, n. 5a.
   11. panatela 1946–
       slang. A cigarette made of marijuana from Central or South America. Also more generally: marijuana.
   12. zol 1949–
       A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
   13. bomber 1950–
       slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A hand-rolled cigarette containing cannabis. Now somewhat dated.
   14. number 1963–
       colloquial. A person or thing. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A marijuana cigarette; an amount of marijuana obtained from a dealer.
   15. doobie 1967–
       A marijuana cigarette; (also) marijuana.
   16. smoke 1967–
       A cigar or cigarette; a marijuana cigarette. Also figurative.
   17. cheeba 1971–
       Originally: a potent variety of Colombian marijuana. Later more generally: marijuana of any kind. Also: a marijuana cigarette.
   18. Thai stick 1976–
       Of or pertaining to Thailand, its people, or its language; Thai silk, wild silk woven in Thailand according to traditional designs, often with…
   19. blunt 1988–
       A cigar whose wrapper has been emptied of tobacco and filled with marijuana.
   20. bifter 1989–
       A cigarette; (sometimes) spec. (esp. outside Liverpool) a marijuana cigarette.
   21. jazz cigarette 1992–
       A marijuana cigarette.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. cigarette 1831–
      A small cigar made of a little finely-cut tobacco rolled up in thin paper, tobacco-leaf, or maize-husk.
   2. cigarito 1832–
      A cigarette.
   3. paper cigar 1833–
      A cigarette.
   4. papelito 1845–
      In Spain and Spanish-speaking areas: a cigarette, esp. one which is hand-rolled.
   5. coffin-nail c1865–
      a. A nail used in making a coffin; b. slang (originally U.S.), a cigarette (cf. nail, n. II.7d).
   6. fag 1885–
      A cigarette; (in early use) spec. †a cheap one (obsolete).
   7. butt 1893–
      U.S. colloquial. A cigarette. Cf. sense I.3b.i.
   8. pill 1901–
      slang (originally U.S.). A cigarette.
   9. ciggy 1906–
      = cigarette, n.
   10. scag 1915–
       A cigarette; a cigarette stub.
   11. nail 1925–
       Extended uses. Chiefly U.S. slang. A cigarette. Cf. coffin-nail, n. (b); a nail in the coffin at sense II.4c.
   12. quirly 1932–
       A cigarette, esp. one that is hand-rolled.
   13. tab 1934–
       A cigarette. northern dialect and slang.
   14. burn 1941–
       A ‘smoke’; tobacco, esp. a cigarette; to have a burn: to smoke a cigarette. slang.
   15. draw 1946–
       slang. A cigarette. Later also: a cannabis cigarette.
   16. tube 1946–
       A cigarette. slang.
   17. zol 1949–
       A hand-rolled cigarette, esp. one containing marijuana.
   18. snout 1950–
       A cigarette.
   19. cancer stick 1958–
       A cigarette.
   20. straight 1959–
       slang. A cigarette; spec. (a) An unfiltered cigarette; (b) a cigarette made with tobacco, as opposed to one made with marijuana; (c) an ordinary…
   21. square 1970–
       Slang uses. U.S. (originally and chiefly in African American usage). A cigarette containing tobacco, as opposed to one containing marijuana.
   22. bifter 1989–
       A cigarette; (sometimes) spec. (esp. outside Liverpool) a marijuana cigarette.
   23. lung dart 1990–
       A cigarette; cf. dart, n. additions.
   24. dart 2000–
       colloquial (chiefly Canadian and Australian). A cigarette. Cf. lung dart, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɒl/
zol

### U.S. English

/zɑl/
zahl

### South African English

/zɒl/

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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 /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### 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

1. 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### 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

zol, n. was first published in March 2025.