•Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has included 22 new expressions from Nigeria and other West African countries in its latest update, acknowledging the region’s growing impact on global English usage.
The December 2025 update, released on the OED website yesterday, features over 500 new words, phrases and tenses, including Nigerian-origin words such as “nyash”, “Ghana Must Go”, “mammy market”, “amala”, and “moi moi”.
These additions reflect the diversity of Nigerian English, Pidgin and street slang as well as demonstrate their influence on global vocabulary.
The OED’s update highlights Nigeria’s significant linguistic contribution to the English Language.
The dictionary has also revised over 1,000 existing entries and added words from other varieties of English, including Maltese, Japanese, and South Korean English.
According to the OED, Abeg can be used as an interjection or adverb “to express a range of emotions, such as surprise, exasperation, disbelief, etc”.
Below are the new additions to the updated version of the dictionary:
1. abeg, int. & adv.
2. abrokyire, n.
3. Adowa, n.
4. Afrobeats, n.
5. amala, n.
6. ampesi, n.
7. benachin, n.
8. bichir, n.
9. biko, adv. & int.
10. domoda, n.
11. dumboy, n.
12. Ghana Must Go, n.
13. hiplife, n.
14. kpanlogo, n.
15. light soup, n.
16. mammy market, n.
17. moi moi, n.
18. nawetan, n.
19. nyash, n.
20. obroni, n. & adj.
21. poda-poda, n.
22. yassa, n.
