‘Gigil’ makes it to Oxford English Dictionary

“Gigil” is the newest Filipino word that has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary this March.

The word, listed as both a noun and an adjective, is part of the dictionary’s Philippine English category.

According to Oxford English Dictionary, “gigil” is “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.”

The dictionary also defines it as an adjective in the context of a person, such as when one is “overwhelmed by an intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable.”

Oxford also added examples of sentences using the term from 1990 to 2024.

Other Filipino words that are part of the Oxford English Dictionary include Pinoy, bongga, CR, lumpia, toyo, trapo, kilig, barkada, bakya, and many more.

—Nika Roque/CDC, GMA Integrated News