Oxford English Dictionary adds new words from the Isle of Man

The Oxford English Dictionary has included some Manx words as part of its September update.

They are examples of 'loan words' - that is, they are Manx Gaelic words we'd use whilst speaking so-called 'Manx English'.

The words selected are:

Chiollagh - which means a tall, wide fireplace with an open hearth, of the type found in traditional Manx buildings.

'The word comes from the Manx word çhiollagh, from Early Irish tellach or tenlach, from teine ‘fire’, combined with an element of uncertain origin, perhaps either a noun related to Welsh lle ‘place’ or a derivative suffix.'

Thie veg - which is a toilet or lavatory, especially one which is external to a main building.  

'In Manx, thie veg literally mean ‘small house’—thie ‘house’ is from Early Irish teg- or tech, while veg is the inflected form of beg ‘small’, from early Irish bec.'

Cooish - which means a friendly conversation or chat.

The OED entry cites the following lines from a 1908 poem by the Manx poet and playwright Cushag - the pen name of Josephine Kermode:

Johnny an' me was sweethearts

Many a year gone by,

Stannin' aroun' in the haggart,

An' havin' a cooish on the sly.

In September 2024, the Oxford English Dictionary published the first of a new series of quarterly updates for World Englishes.

They included new and revised entries for words from the Caribbean, East Africa, New Zealand, and Wales.

Since then, it has released three further updates, all featuring a colourful assortment of distinctive words and phrases used by English speakers across the globe.

In this latest update, the OED says it's gone 'back to where its journey started' by presenting a new batch of Caribbean, East African, New Zealand, and Welsh additions and revisions to the dictionary, but this time joined by recent inclusions from the Isle of Man.

It says they're important words as Manx Gaelic is officially recognised and is undergoing revitalisation.

It's not the first time words like this have been included in the OED; other entries include: yessir, Hop tu Naa, skeet, and bonnag!

Danica Salazar is the World English Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary: