reefer

The word 'reefer' has a nautical origin, first referring to a person who reefs (shortens) sails. This sense naturally extended to the thick, close-fitting jacket worn by sailors while performing this task. The most common modern meaning, a refrigerated transport unit, developed through a different but phonetically identical path. It is a shortened form of 'refrigerator', humorously applying the same '-er' agent suffix to create a term for a container that performs the action of refrigerating. The slang term for a marijuana cigarette likely derives from the 1930s jazz slang, where "reefer" was associated with something that alters one's state, possibly influenced by the earlier sense of the jacket, as such cigarettes were often rolled in a specific way.

Structure: reef (shorten, gather) + er (agent suffix) - reef: From Dutch 'reef' (a part of a sail gathered in), of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old Norse 'rif' (rib). In this word, it functions as a verb root meaning to shorten or gather. - er: From Old English '-ere', an agent suffix indicating a person or thing that performs an action. In this word, it forms a noun meaning 'a thing that reefs or shortens'.