The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has updated its glossary to include several words of Nigerian origin, among them “nyash,” “mammy market,” and “amala”.

The December 2025 update, released on the OED website on Wednesday, features more than 500 new words, phrases, and grammatical forms.

Other Nigerian-originated words added to the dictionary include “moi moi”, “abeg”, “biko”, and “Ghana Must Go”. Internet slang such as “DM”, “brainfart”, and “chug” also featured in the update.

In addition, more than 1,000 existing entries were revised, while OED editors explored the histories of words including “troll”, “coffee”, and “snooker”.

The update draws from varieties of English spoken around the world, including West African English, Maltese English, Japanese English, and South Korean English, with editors noting the growing global influence of these Englishes.

Among the Nigerian additions is “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 express a range of emotions depending on context, including surprise, exasperation, and disbelief. “Biko”, originally from the Igbo language, is defined as an adverb and interjection used in polite requests or agreement, or to add polite emphasis or urgency, meaning “please”.

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

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

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 category of cuisine, the dictionary added “amala”, a staple made from yam or cassava flour, defined as “a kind of dough made of yam, cassava, or unripe plantain flour, typically formed into a ball and served as an accompaniment to other dishes”. It also included “moi moi”, a dish originating among the Yoruba people, described as “consisting of beans ground into a smooth paste, mixed with peppers, onions, and other ingredients”.

The latest update reflects the growing global influence of Nigeria’s language, culture, and cuisine.

In January 2025, the OED expanded its lexicon with 20 Nigerian words and expressions, highlighting the impact of Nigerian English, Pidgin, and street slang on global vocabulary. These additions included everyday terms such as “japa”, “agbero”, and “eba”, a staple food made from cassava flour.

Other entries, including “419”, referring to internet fraud, and “abi”, a common conversational tag, were also added.

In 2024, words such as “japa”, “adire”, “kobo”, “Naija”, and “suya” were included, alongside “jand”, “eba”, “gele”, and “abi”.

Similarly, in 2020, 29 Nigerian words, including “danfo”, “okada”, “next tomorrow”, and “mama put”, were added to the dictionary.

The full list of newly added entries also includes African words such as “abrokyire”, “adowa”, “ampesi”, “benachin”, “domoda”, “kpanlogo”, “nawetan”, “obroni”, and “poda-poda”.