Oxford Dictionary: ‘Okada’, ‘Tokunbo’, ‘Ember months’, 26 other Nigerian words make the list

In a release note on Oxford English Dictionary (OED)’s official blog, it said the words were incorporated into the dictionary in recognition of Nigerians’ “unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language”.

“By taking ownership of English and using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are continuing to make, a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language.

“We highlight their contributions in this month’s update of the Oxford English Dictionary, as a number of Nigerian English words make it into the dictionary for the first time.

“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 said.

The Oxford English Dictionary has recognized Nigerians’ ownership of the English language, and several of our words like danfo, a Yoruba word for yellow mini-buses conveying passengers across Lagos and Okada, a word for a commercial motorcycle, have made it into the dictionary for the first time!

The full list of the new entries are highlighted 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.