Kif/Kiff

South African slang for cool, a general term of approbation or approval, dates from the late 1980s. It is thought to derive from the Afrikaans gif meaning poison. During the 1970s, Natal pot-smokers used to smoke what was nicknamed Durban poison, and in Afrikaans this was Durban gif. This eventually evolved into kif or kiff signifying anything that was considered cool. Another theory is that kif, pronounced keef, is also North African Arabic for hashish or marijuana. In Arabic, the word kif actually means pleasure. This appears to be quite close to the South African meaning, given that pot smoking is involved. Kif in British slang still refers specifically to marijuana and dates from the 1960s when many Britons went to places like Morocco to indulge the habit. Perhaps the South African and British origins are inter-connected given the close relations between the two countries.