The Additions Reflecting Global Influence of Local Language and Culture
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added several Nigerian-origin words and expressions to its latest update, underscoring the growing global influence of Nigeria’s language, culture, and cuisine.
The December 2025 update, released on the OED website on Wednesday, introduced over 500 new words, phrases, and senses, including internet slang such as “DM,” “brainfart,” and “chug.” More than 1,000 existing entries were also revised, while editors explored the histories of words like “troll,” “coffee,” and “snooker.”
According to the OED, the update draws from varieties of English spoken worldwide, including West African English, Maltese English, Japanese English, and South Korean English, reflecting the expanding global reach of these forms of English.
Among the Nigerian additions are widely used expressions and food-related terms such as “nyash,” “mammy market,” “amala,” “moi moi,” “abeg,” “biko,” and “Ghana Must Go.”
The update also includes “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 expressing emotions such as surprise, disbelief, or exasperation, while “biko,” derived from the Igbo language, is defined as an adverb or interjection used to make polite requests or add emphasis, meaning “please.”
“Nyash” is defined as “a person’s (especially a woman’s) buttocks; the bottom.”
Also added is “Ghana Must Go,” the popular name for the large, chequered plastic bags commonly used across West Africa. The term traces its origin to the 1983 mass expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria and is defined as “a large, zippered bag made of durable plastic with a colourful check pattern.”
The term “mammy market” was recognised as “a market typically run by women, originally found in military barracks but later also in youth service camps and educational institutions.”
In the cuisine category, the OED included “amala,” defined as “a kind of dough made from yam, cassava, or unripe plantain flour, typically served as an accompaniment to other dishes,” and “moi moi,” a Yoruba dish made from ground beans mixed with peppers, onions, and spices.
The OED had earlier added 20 Nigerian words and expressions in its January 2025 update, highlighting the impact of Nigerian English, Pidgin, and street slang on global vocabulary. Those entries included “japa,” “agbero,” “eba,” “419,” and “abi.”