Cannabis or marijuana, especially in Indian English; a variant spelling of 'ganja' reflecting regional pronunciation and transliteration preferences.
From Sanskrit 'gañjā,' the same root as 'ganja.' Various romanizations of Sanskrit words produced multiple English spellings including 'gunja,' 'ganja,' 'ganjas'—all referring to the cannabis plant known and cultivated in South Asia for millennia.
Sanskrit gave English dozens of words we barely recognize as foreign—not just 'ganja' but also 'jungle,' 'shampoo,' 'yoga'—the difference is that colonial administrators standardized certain spellings while others stayed regional.
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