OXFORD DICTIONARY ADDS ICONIC NIGERIAN WORDS INCLUDING ‘NYASH’ AND ‘AMALA’

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By: Balogun Ibrahim

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added several words of Nigerian origin in its latest update, highlighting the growing global influence of the country’s language, culture, and cuisine.

Released on the OED website on Wednesday, the December 2025 update introduces over 500 new words, phrases, and meanings, including internet slang such as “DM,” “brainfart,” and “chug.”

In addition, more than 1,000 existing entries were revised, with editors exploring the histories of words like “troll,” “coffee,” and “snooker.”

The update also features additions from varieties of English spoken worldwide, including West African, Maltese, Japanese, and South Korean English, reflecting the expanding global reach of these English dialects.

Among the Nigerian entries are common expressions and food items, including “nyash,” “mammy market,” “amala,” “moi moi,” “abeg,” “biko,” and “Ghana Must Go.”

The update also added “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 convey a variety of emotions depending on context, including surprise, exasperation, or disbelief.

“Biko,” derived from the Igbo language, is defined as an adverb and interjection used to make polite requests, express agreement, or add emphasis or urgency, essentially meaning “please.”

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added 20 Nigerian words and expressions in its January 2025 update, underscoring the global influence of Nigerian English, Pidgin, and street slang.

Among the new entries, “nyash” is defined as “a person’s (especially a woman’s) buttocks; the bottom, the backside.”

The phrase “Ghana Must Go” named after the large, chequered plastic bags widely used in West Africa, traces its origins to the 1983 mass expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria. It is defined as “a large, zippered bag made of durable plastic with a colourful check pattern, often used for carrying one’s belongings.”

“Mammy market” is 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 culinary category, “amala” a staple food made from yam, cassava, or unripe plantain flour is defined as “a kind of dough typically formed into a ball and served as an accompaniment to other dishes,” while “moi moi”, originating from the Yoruba people, is described as “beans ground into a smooth paste, mixed with peppers, onions, dried ingredients, and steamed or baked into a pudding-like dish.”

The update also added everyday Nigerian terms such as japa, agbero, and eba, a staple dish made from cassava flour.

Other entries include 419, referring to internet fraud, and abi, a widely used conversational tag.