“Biko, Mammy Market, Amala” Oxford Dictionary Adds New Nigerian Words

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has announced the addition of Nigerian and other West African words and expressions to its global lexicon.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the OED, in a statement, confirmed the inclusion of twenty-four new words drawn from Nigeria and Ghana, the region’s two largest English-speaking countries, as well as Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The newly recognised entries include Abeg, Ghana Must Go, Biko, Akpanlogo, Nyash, Mammy Market and Moi Moi, among others, underscoring the growing global impact of West African English.

Several of the additions function across different grammatical categories, serving as nouns, verbs or adverbs.

For instance, “Obroni” appears both as a noun, first recorded in 1918, and as an adjective commonly used to describe foreigners, with usage traced to 1975.

Bend down (and) select, introduced in 2006, describes second-hand clothing and operates as both a noun and a verb.

It was gathered that this latest update comes one year after the OED added twenty Nigerian words to its dictionary.

PREMIUM TIMES further noted that in January 2025, the OED incorporated several Nigerian expressions such as Japa, 419, agberoo, abi, area boy, yahoo boy, yahoo, Edo, Kanuri, jand, cross-carpet, kobo, Naija and suya, among others.

In 2020, the dictionary included 29 terms including danfo, okada, next tomorrow and mama put, marking the most significant expansion of Nigerian vocabulary since the OED was founded in 1884.

See the meanings of some of the words below:“A Ghana Must Go” refers to a large zippered bag made from durable plastic with colourful check patterns, commonly used for carrying personal items while travelling. It functions only as a noun.

“Mammy market” describes a market traditionally operated by women, originally located within Nigerian military barracks and later found in youth service camps and educational institutions.

“Moi moi”, derived from Yoruba in 1993, is a steamed or boiled dish made from ground beans mixed with peppers, onions, dried crayfish and seasonings, often garnished with sliced boiled eggs, shredded chicken or other toppings.

“Biko”, from the Igbo language, functions as an adverb meaning ‘please’ from 1997 and later as an interjection expressing emotions such as surprise, frustration or disbelief from 2009.

“Poda-poda” refers to a van or minibus used for commercial passenger transport within Sierra Leone’s informal transport system.

The term “poda” in Krio means a small sum of money and is itself derived from the English word powder.

Complete list of newly added words:

• 1. Abeg
• 2. Abrokyire
• 3. Adowa
• 4. Amala
• 5. Ampesi
• 6. Articulator
• 7. Benachin
• 8. Bend down (and) select
• 9. Biko
• 10. Domoda
• 11. Dumboy
• 12. Ghana Must Go
• 13. Kpanlogo
• 14. Light soup
• 15. Mammy market
• 16. Moi moi
• 17. Nawetan
• 18. Nyash
• 19. Obroni
• 20. Poda-poda
• 21. Swallow
• 22. Talk less
• 23. Yassa
• 24. Hiplife