Aside from being my name, Kief, kif, or (rarely) keif is a term for hash (hashish), deriving from its use in the Rif mountains of Morocco. However it has spread out from this into slang terms in different languages. So I have found or heard of the usage of the word "Kief" variations in many languages, including Arabic, French, German, Afrikanns, and Czech. If you know of other usages of the word, let me know! Most of the information in here is based on correspondance and informal research, rather than documented sources, but it has generally been confirmed by multiple sources.

Related terms are "kief pipe" (or "kif pipe"), and the "kief box" ("kif box").

Definition

kief, kif, kef, keif, kaef (kíf) noun

1. Marijuana [Arabic, French]

2. A drowsy state [English, f. Arabic, according to The Concise Oxford Dictionary.]

3. Well being [Arabic]

kief, kif, kef, keif, kaef (kíf) adjective

1. (slang) Cool, awesome [French, slang in South Africa and others]

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Kief Around the World

Kif in Morocco

The term Kif or Kief almost certainly comes from Morocco. Marijuana is grown in the Rif mountains (probably the origin of the term "reefer" for marijuana cigarettes). The plant is mainly grown there for use in making hashish, which is made by compressing the resin from marijuana plants into a dense, clay-like form which is much more potent, weight for weight, than the grass form. Hash is more easily stored and transported than grass, and can also be made from less potent, "industrial grade" grass.

Moroccans use the term "kif" to describe a mixture of grass and tobacco, usually smoked in a special pipe called a "kif pipe". Moroccans in general prefer tobacco to marijuana, the latter being associated with poor farmers. Foreign brands of cigarettes, such as Marlboro, seem to be the most highly regarded by Moroccans.

France

In French kief means either Marijuana or "cool" (as in the English slang word), the latter meaning probably deriving from the former. It seems likely that this usage comes from Arabic via Morocco.

German

Several Germans tell me that the verb kiffen or keffen means "to smoke Marijuana" in Deutsch.

Czech

It would appear that kief also has a Cannabis related meaning in the Czech language. The only evidence I have for this so far is a web page I came across in a search entitled Kief ´ovo vetesznictvii. Now, I may not speak or read Czech, so I can't authoritatively translate what this web page is about, but I don't think I'm too far off base on this one.

South Africa

Several correspondants from South Africa tell us that kief is slang for "great" or "excellent" or probably closer to "awesome". For example, in Afrikaans, "Dit is 'n kief vrou". Meaning: "That is an awesome woman". Also in usage among non-Afrikanns.

North America

In Canada and the United States Kief often refers to marijuana pollen crystals. These are the small fibers which can be shaken off and use to make hash powder, which can be smoked, snorted, or compressed to make hash.

More Info?

If you have any information on the etymology of the word kief in any language, let me know!