valerie
n. countablen. a slang term for a specific type of drug, usually a pill used to help people relax or sleep. It is a very informal name used in street talk or songs.
n. a slang designation for Valium (diazepam) or similar sedative-hypnotic medications. Highly informal and restricted to colloquial or subcultural registers.
He was looking for a valerie to help him sleep.
The lyrics of the song use valerie as a coded reference to prescription drug use in the city.
Sociolinguistic studies of urban slang often identify personified names like valerie as a common strategy for masking references to controlled substances in public discourse.
From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria. Doublet of Valeria.
From valeryl, part of the chemical name of the drug, and alluding to the female name. Compare Lucy (“the drug LSD”).
Usually lowercase when used as slang; capitalized when used as a proper name.