The Oxford English Dictionary added around 600 new words and phrases in its March 2025 update, which included 11 Filipino words, such as “gigil,” “CR,” “lumpia,” and “load.”In the update posted on its website, Oxford Dictionary noted “untranslatable words,” which are “words and phrases in one language that cannot be translated into another.”“Often, when we talk about untranslatable words, what we are actually talking about are words that have been lexicalized in one language but not in others, which is what makes them particularly intriguing,” it continued.
One of the Filipino words added was “gigil” that according to Oxford Dictionary is originally Tagalog, but is now also used in Philippine English.The dictionary described “gigil” as “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 iconic “salakot” was also included and is defined as “a type of lightweight Filipino hat that is typically domed or conical in shape, with a wide brim, and often has a spiked or ornamental finial at the tip of the crown.
”The dictionary added “kababayan,” which means two things-the “small, sweet, typically yellow cake similar to a muffin” and the word which Filipinos use to “call their fellow Fili.
