31 Pinoy-Invented Words Included in Oxford English Dictionary’s Latest Update

Except for the South China Sea dispute where the Philippines is in great disadvantage, it looks like the year 2015 is the year for the Filipino people.

After the country was identified in a survey by CNN as the second most favorite food destination and the Filipino cuisine as the new “it” food, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has included several words from the Filipino language to be included in its 500 new words list for June 2015.

A total of 31 Philippine-origin and invented words were included in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

“The latest OED update sees the inclusion of a large number of words from distinct global varieties of English,” the OED said in a statement released on Thursday.

The OED noted that some of the terms in Philippines English give new senses of common English words.

Some of the words included in the latest update of the OED are “gimmick” which means “a night out with friends,” “estafa” for “fraud,” “barkada” which refers to “group of friends,” “carnap” which means “to steal a car” and “presidentiable” or “a person who is likely or confirmed candidate for president.”

Other words that are also included are: “barangay,” “high-blood,” “despedida,” “halo-halo,” “sari-sari store,” “utang na loob,” “kikay kit” and “mani-pedi.”

“Evidence for these usages is not just found in the Philippines itself but also in parts of the United States that have large Filipino populations,” the OED added.

The first Filipino word that was included in the OED was “abaca” which came out in the dictionary’s first edition in 1928.

The latest OED update included around 500 new words and more than 900 revised and updated words. Over 2,400 new senses of existing words were also added in the latest update.

“This confirms the OED’s place as one of the largest and longest-running language research projects in the world,” the OED said.

The complete lists of Filipino words that were included in the latest OED update are:

1. Bahala na
2. Balikbayan
3. Baon
4. Barangay
5. Barkada
6. Baro’t saya
7. Barong
8. Barong-tagalog
9. Batchmate
10. Buko
11. Carnap
12. Carnapper
13. Despidida
14. Dirty kitchen
15. Estafa
16. Gimmick
17. Halo-halo
18. High-blood
19. Kikay kit
20. KKB
21. Kuya
22. Mabuhay
23. Mani-pedi
24. Pan de sal
25. Presidentiable
26. Pulutan
27. Salvage (to kill)
28. Sari sari store
29. Sinigang
30. Suki
31. Utang na loob

The above lists of Pinoy-origin words may have been used before during Spanish-era but the meaning and uses differ from how it is used today.

The inclusion of the said words solidifies the Philippines’ great contribution to the English language, the report said.

/Carla Gamboa/ Assisted Press

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