Chronic

Adjective from Latin chronicus via Greek khronos ("time"). Popularized as cannabis slang by Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic; Green's Dictionary of Slang cites the album's lyrics as the earliest attestation. ⚠️ Meaning disputed: Snoop Dogg has claimed he and Dre misheard "hydroponic" as "hydrochronic" in 1991; Etymonline and Dictionary.com instead derive it from the medical sense ("severe, extreme"). Denotes top-shelf cannabis in West Coast hip-hop; later broadened among youth as a generic synonym for "excellent."