The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially added 11 uniquely Filipino words, including gigil, kababayan, and salakot, to its March 2025 update.
“A word that appears regularly on lists of untranslatable words is gigil,” the OED noted.
“Gigil is a feeling we get when we see someone or something cute, a feeling so intense that it gives us the irresistible urge to tightly clench our hands, grit our teeth, and pinch or squeeze whomever or whatever it is we find so adorable, whether it be a chubby-cheeked baby or a fluffy little kitten.”
The OED added that gigil is “a pithy name for such a strange, paradoxical emotion,” and clarified that “if a Filipino says they’re gigil, they’re just dealing with overwhelming feelings (usually positive).”
The dictionary’s citation showed that gigil has been in Philippine English usage since at least 1990.
Another Filipino cultural symbol added to the dictionary is salakot, a traditional hat with a wide brim, conical or dome-shaped, and often adorned with ornamental designs.
“Salakot (first attested 1841), a type of lightweight Filipino hat… has become an important symbol of Filipino culture and is now also worn as part of traditional Filipino attire during festivals and other celebrations,” OED stated.
Also making the list is kababayan, which the OED describes in two ways.
As a baked good, it is “a small, sweet, typically yellow cake similar to a muffin,” and as a term of solidarity, it is “a word that Filipinos use to call their fellow Filipinos, or people who come from the same Philippine region or town as them.”
“The word combines the Tagalog prefix ka-, expressing companionship, with -babayan, a variant… of the noun bayan, meaning ‘town’ or ‘country,’” the OED said.
Other Filipino words included in the latest update are lumpia (1924), videoke (1990), sando (1943), load (2003), CR (1987), and terror (1967), reflecting everyday Filipino usage and lifestyle.
Capping the list is Thomasite (1908), referring to American teachers brought to the Philippines during the US colonial era.
“The Thomasites were tasked with establishing a new public school system… thereby, for good or ill, helping transform the Philippines into the Anglophone country it is today,” OED said.