Amala, moi moi, abeg, biko, nyash, mammy market enter Oxford Dictionary

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

Released online on Wednesday, the December 2025 update 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, with editors exploring the histories of words like “troll,” “coffee,” and “snooker.”

The update reflects contributions from varieties of English spoken around the world, including West African, Maltese, Japanese, and South Korean English, with OED editors noting the increasing global reach of these Englishes.

Among the Nigerian additions are everyday expressions and food items such as “nyash,” “mammy market,” “amala,” “moi moi,” “abeg,” “biko,” and “Ghana Must Go.”

“Afrobeats” was also added, described as “a style of popular music incorporating elements of West African music and of jazz, soul, and funk.”

The dictionary defines “abeg” as an interjection expressing a range of emotions like surprise, disbelief, or exasperation, while “biko,” from the Igbo language, is used as a polite request or emphasis, meaning “please.”

“Nyash” refers to a person’s buttocks, especially a woman’s.

Other notable entries include “Ghana Must Go,” the name for large, checkered plastic bags widely used in West Africa, tracing its origin to the 1983 expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria.

“Mammy market” is defined as a market usually run by women, originally in military barracks, later found in youth service camps and schools.

In the food category, “amala” is described as a dough made from yam, cassava, or unripe plantain flour, typically served alongside other dishes, while “moi moi” is a smooth bean paste dish mixed with peppers, onions, and other ingredients, originating from the Yoruba people.