Oxford Dictionary Includes 29 Nigerian Words, Expressions in New Entries

Oxford English Dictionary has disclosed the inclusion of about 30 Nigerian words and expressions to the dictionary.

While disclosing this, Oxford Dictionary Editor, Danica Salazar, said in a statement that some of those words were borrowed from Nigerian origin and some were coinages.

“The majority of these new additions are either borrowings from Nigerian languages, or unique Nigerian coinages that have only begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s,” OED’s World English,” Danica Salazar said.

“Next tomorrow”, which is one of the new entries into the dictionary, is regarded as the oldest among the over 25 uniquely Nigerian words/expressions.

According to Salazar, ‘next tomorrrow’ was first used in written English as a noun in 1953, and as an adverb in 1964.

Others such as ‘buka,’ ‘bukateria’ and ‘severally’ also found their way into the dictionary.

The full list of the new entries is below:

• agric, adj. & n.
• barbing salon, n.
• buka, n.
• bukateria, n.
• chop, v./6
• chop-chop, n./2
• danfo, n.
• to eat money, in eat, v.
• ember months, n.
• flag-off, n.
• to flag off in flag, v.
• gist, n./3
• gist, v./2
• guber, adj.
• Kannywood, n.
• K-leg, n.
• mama put, n.
• next tomorrow, n. & adv.
• non-indigene, adj. & n.
• okada, n.
• to put to bed, in put, v.
• qualitative, adj.
• to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1
• sef, adv.
• send-forth, n.
• severally, adv.
• tokunbo, adj.
• zone, v.
• zoning, n.