Pot

Many predictable slang names for nature's wonder plant, cannabis sativa. Names like "weed", and "grass", they're amusingly self-describing. However, where did the old, colloquial term "pot" originally come from? 

Some folks believe it stems from the longer Spanish word "potiguaya". Linguists suggest that the word "pot" may have been borrowed from this Mexican-Spanish term, referring to a drink made from marijuana leaves. Or, when leaves of the drink's plant are a topper garnish. 

The term pot became popular in the 20th century, including among jazz musicians and other artists, various counterculture movements, and social recreational trends that became over time more favorable to cannabis use. 

Potiguaya can also  mean when a wine or brandy has had the plant's flowers steeped in it. The word means literally “the drink of grief”, a bit odd, considering cannabis and alcohol can produce euphoria or just relaxation.

Although technically inaccurate, I've preferred the term "herb", perhaps a friendlier describer, without the historically negative legal shadows.