‘Abeg’, ‘nyash’, ‘moi moi’, other Nigerian expressions added to Oxford Dictionary
Several words of Nigerian origin have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in its latest update.
The Dictionary features more than 500 new words and phrases in its December 2025 update, released on its website on Wednesday.
Varieties such as West African, Maltese, Japanese, and South Korean Englishes were reflected in the current edition, due to their growing influence.
Among the everyday Nigerian expressions included in the current entry are; “moi moi”, “nyash,” “abeg” “mammy market,” “amala,” “Ghana Must Go” and “biko”.
The update also included “Afrobeats”, which it defines as “a style of popular music incorporating elements of West African music and of jazz, soul, and funk.”
“Abeg” is used as an interjection to express a range of emotions, such as exasperation, surprise, disbelief, depending on its context, while “biko” which originated from the Igbo language is used as an adverb and interjection in polite request or agreement, or to add polite emphasis or urgency.
“Nyash” is defined as “a person’s (esp. a woman’s) buttocks; the bottom, the backside.”
“Ghana Must Go”, the popular name for the large, chequered plastic bags widely used in West Africa, was also added. The clausal expression originated from the mass expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria in 1983 who used the bags during their exodus from the country.
Such expressions as “mammy market”, local cuisines such as “amala”, a staple food made from yam or cassava flour, and “moi moi”, a dish “consisting of beans ground into a smooth paste…” were also added.
The OED had in its January 2025 update added 20 Nigerian words, including such terms as japa, agbero, eba, abi and 419, among others.
