Eleven Filipino words have been officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in its March 2025 update. This recognition highlights the growing influence of Filipino culture and language worldwide.
OED explains that some words don’t have direct English translations, making them unique and valuable for communication. When speakers of different languages need an exact word for an idea or feeling, they often borrow words from other languages — which is how Filipino terms find their way into English.
Here are the 8 Filipino words now part of the OED:
- Gigil – An intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable, typically physically manifested by the tight clenching of hands, gritting of the teeth, trembling of the body, or the pinching or squeezing of the person or thing causing this emotion.
- Kababayan – A fellow Filipino; one’s fellow Filipino. Also: a person from the same Philippine region or town as another.
- Lumpia – In East and Southeast Asian cookery: any of various types of spring roll, typically consisting of a very thin pancake filled with minced meat, seafood, or vegetables, rolled into a cylinder (and sometimes deep-fried), and served with a dipping sauce.
- Pinoy – (As an adjective) “Of, belonging to, or relating to the Philippines or Filipinos”
- Salakot – A type of lightweight Filipino hat traditionally worn by farmers as protection against the weather, typically domed or conical in shape, with a wide brim, and often having a spiked or ornamental finial at the tip of the crown.
- Sando – A sleeveless garment worn under or instead of a shirt; a vest.
- Thomasite – An American teacher in the Philippines during the period of American occupation (1899–1946); esp. one belonging to the first group of teachers who arrived on the U.S. Army Transport Thomas in 1901, tasked with establishing a new public school system, teaching basic education, and training Filipino teachers, using English as the primary language of instruction.
- Videoke –A form of entertainment popular in bars, at parties, etc., in which a person sings the vocal line of a popular song to the accompaniment of a pre-recorded backing tape while following the lyrics which appear on a screen in time with the music. Also: the equipment used for this.
These three Philippine English entries were included as additional meanings for existing English words.
- CR – Short for “comfort room,” commonly used in the Philippines to mean restroom. “A toilet; a lavatory; cf. comfort room n.”
- Load – Credit purchased for a pay-as-you-go mobile phone.
- Terror – A teacher who is strict, harsh, or demanding.
As cultures mix, languages evolve, and more Filipino words could make their way into future English dictionaries.
What other Filipino words do you think should be added next?
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