Oxford dictionary
By Bose
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The Oxford English Dictionary has enlisted some new words with Nigerian-origin in its latest December 2025 update.
The new entrants have shown that some Nigerian language, culture and foods have attained global influence.
The latest release on the OED website on Wednesday, features more than 500 new words, phrases and senses, including Internet slangs, such as “DM”, “brainfart” and “chug”.
Over 1,000 existing entries were also revised, while editors explored the histories of words such as “troll”, “coffee” and “snooker”.
The update includes additions from varieties of English used around the world, including West African English, Maltese English, Japanese English and South Korean English, with OED editors noting the growing global influence of these Englishes.
Among the Nigerian entries are everyday expressions and food items, including “nyash,” “mammy market,” “amala,” “moi moi,” “abeg,” “biko,” and “Ghana Must Go.”
The update included “Afrobeats”, defined as “a style of popular music incorporating elements of West African music and of jazz, soul, and funk.”
The dictionary describes “abeg” as an interjection used to express contextually a range of emotions, such as surprise, exasperation, disbelief.
