By ‘Dayo Showemimo
A few days ago, 500 new words were added to the Oxford Dictionary. One of the new words is ‘Twerking,‘ a dance move popularised by singer, Miley Cyrus which actually dates back to 1820.
According to a report by BBC, researchers found out that the word, ‘Twerk’ was first used in 1820. Spelt then as twirk, it was used to refer to a twisting or jerking movement or twitch but the verb is believed to have emerged later in 1848. The current spelling of ‘twerk’ according to the dictionary, came to be in 1901.
The dictionary describes twerking as dancing ‘in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance.’
Some of the other words out of the 500 new words added include:
Guerrilla – describing activities carried out in an irregular and spontaneous way
Gimmick – to mean ‘a night out with friends’.
Twitterati – describing users of the social media service Twitter
Fo’ shizzle – meaning ‘for sure’.
‘Meh’; an interjection expressing lack of enthusiasm, has also been included in the Oxford English Dictionary.
