English word origin

Etymology of mezz

Named after American jazz musician Mezz Mezzrow (1899–1972) who introduced Mexican marijuana to the Harlem jazz scene.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

Marijuana.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Named after American jazz musician Mezz Mezzrow (1899–1972) who introduced Mexican marijuana to the Harlem jazz scene.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "n",
        "3": "N"
      },
      "expansion": "N"
    },
    {
      "name": "named-after/list",
      "args": {
        "1": "jazz musician",
        "2": "",
        "3": "",
        "4": "",
        "5": ""
      },
      "expansion": "jazz musician"
    },
    {
      "name": "!",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "|"
    },
    {
      "name": "lang",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Mezz Mezzrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Mezz Mezzrow"
    },
    {
      "name": "named-after",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Mezz Mezzrow",
        "occ": "jazz musician",
        "nat": "American",
        "born": "1899",
        "died": "1972",
        "wplink": "="
      },
      "expansion": "Named after American jazz musician Mezz Mezzrow (1899–1972)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Marijuana."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "8b5b0c3109edf2434542037ef38278092d8ce69e4bd19c52e150eae786d1a1ef",
      "rawRecordSha256": "56eae9bbc53f5ea006ea84665999f8bae3a8f22e72b4337a110c124c16f04c19",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1149347
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for mezz →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bWV6eg