Afrobeats, Nyash, Mammy Market, Amala, Moi Moi, Abeg, Biko and Ghana Must Go Among Nigerian Words Added to Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has included several Nigerian-origin words in its latest update, highlighting Nigeria’s expanding influence on global language, culture and cuisine.
The December 2025 update, released on the OED website, introduced more than 500 new words, expressions and meanings, alongside popular internet slang such as DM, brainfart and chug. The update also revised over 1,000 existing entries, with editors examining the origins of words like troll, coffee and snooker.
According to the dictionary’s editors, the update reflects contributions from English varieties spoken across the world, including West African English, underscoring the growing impact of regional English usage.
Among the Nigerian words added to the Oxford Dictionary are popular expressions and cultural references such as afrobeats, nyash, mammy market, amala, moi moi, abeg, biko and Ghana Must Go.
The OED defines afrobeats as a music genre that combines elements of West African rhythms with jazz, soul and funk. Abeg is listed as an interjection used to express emotions like surprise, disbelief or frustration, depending on context.
Biko, which originates from the Igbo language, is recognised as an adverb and interjection used to make polite requests or add emphasis, similar to the word please. Nyash is defined as referring to a person’s buttocks, especially a woman’s.
The term Ghana Must Go describes the large, colourful, chequered plastic bags commonly used across West Africa, with its origins linked to the 1983 expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria.
The dictionary also recognises mammy market as a market typically operated by women, originally found in military barracks and later in youth service camps and educational institutions.
Nigerian cuisine features prominently in the update, with amala defined as a dough-like staple made from yam, cassava or plantain flour, and moi moi described as a steamed bean dish rooted in Yoruba culinary tradition.
The inclusion of these terms further demonstrates the rising global recognition of Nigerian English, Pidgin and local expressions, reinforcing Nigeria’s influence on the evolving English language.
About Author
Discover more from BillionBill
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
