MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever come across something irresistibly cute and suddenly felt a rush of emotions that words like “excitement” just can’t seem to capture? There’s actually a Filipino word for that: gigil, which just made its official entry to the renowned Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
The OED defines gigil asis a noun that pertains to the intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing something cute or adorable. This usually manifests through physical gestures such as clenching of hands, gritting of teeth, and trembling of the body.
The language authority listed the term under “untranslated words,” which they described to be words or phrases that are exclusive only to a particular language and cannot be translated to another. Often, these can have varying meanings when used by its speakers.
In the Philippines, gigil is predominantly used positively as an expression of aggressive fondness. When chubby-cheeked babies or animals are around, gigil is one of the most common words used to describe the feeling you get when you see things you deem extremely cute. However, it has also been transformed in the contemporary to describe intense anger or frustration towards a thing or a person.
Its meaning can also be used to describe a person who is overwhelmed by intense emotions, which is why you’ll often hear people say, “Gigil na gigil ako.”
Other words from the Philippines that made it to the latest update of OED include significant Filipino emblems: salakot, kababayan, lumpia, and videoke.
Salakot is a traditional lightweight Filipino hat that is worn by farmers against the weather. It takes the shape of a dome or a cone, and has a wide brim and spiked or ornamental tip.
Kababayan is a muffin-like sweet treat that can be bought in neighborhood bakeries. It is also used to call a fellow Filipino or a person from the same Philippine region or town as another.
Lumpia is any variety of spring roll, typically filled with a “very thin pancake filled with minced meat, seafood, or vegetables” which are then rolled into a cylinder and served with a dipping sauce.
Videoke is described as a form of popular entertainment in bars and parties, where people sing to the “accompaniment of a pre-recorded backing tape while following the lyrics which appear on a screen in time with the music.”
OED also included English words that have their own meanings and connotations in the Philippines. These include CR (short for comfort room), which refers to the toilet or restroom; load, which is the credit purchased for a mobile phone’s prepaid SIM card; and terror, which is used to characterize a teacher who is strict, harsh, or demanding (i.e., terror prof).
OED also added the term Thomasite to the list, which refers to an American teacher who taught in the Philippines during the American occupation.
In previous years, other famous Filipino terms were introduced in the English dictionary, like kilig in 2016, and bongga, and trapo in 2018.
The Oxford English Dictionary is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, and has a roster of words that guides through historical meaning for more than 500,000 words. – with reports from Kevin Ian Lampayan/Rappler.com
Kevin Lampayan is a Rappler intern studying Bachelor of Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.