reefer
reefer Lexical Profile
reefer Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A marijuana cigarette, or marijuana itself (slang).
"The 1930s propaganda film warned audiences about the supposed dangers of smoking reefer."
A refrigerated truck, trailer, freight car, or shipping container used for transporting perishable goods.
"The logistics company leased an extra reefer to transport the fresh produce across the country."
A thick, close-fitting, double-breasted jacket or short coat made of heavy wool, worn originally by sailors.
"The captain buttoned his heavy navy reefer against the freezing ocean spray."
A sailor who reefs sails, or historically in the British Royal Navy, a midshipman who superintended the reefing of sails.
"During the gale, the young reefer climbed into the rigging to help secure the topsails."
• Rhymes for reefer
Word Origin & Etymology
The nautical and clothing senses derive from 'reef' (to reduce the area of a sail by rolling or folding a portion of it) plus the agentive suffix '-er'. The refrigerated vehicle sense is a 20th-century colloquial shortening of 'refrigerator', while the cannabis sense likely arose either from the resemblance of a rolled cigarette to a reefed sail or as an alteration of Mexican Spanish 'grifa' (marijuana).