OED adds 500 words, including Welsh terms like poody, baffling Race Across the World producers
The September update to the Oxford English Dictionary adds ten Welsh terms, among them poody, and notes boomerang usage and regional variations.
The Oxford English Dictionary’s latest update adds about 500 new words or senses, a surge that includes ten Welsh terms and a notable entry that baffled producers of the television series Race Across the World. The September release broadens the dictionary’s coverage of Welsh language and Welsh English usage, alongside hundreds of other additions drawn from global sources.
Among the Welsh terms added is poody, defined by the dictionary as meaning to sulk. Poody is highlighted as a reborrowing, or boomerang word, in which a term travels from English into another language and then returns to English with a fresh life. Linguists trace poody to pwdu, the Welsh verb meaning to sulk, which itself is said to have origins tied to the English pout and the Welsh suffix -u that marks verb formation. The word can function as a verb or a noun, depending on how it is used in a sentence, and its inclusion underscores how regional speech can migrate into mainstream lexicons through popular culture and media.
The same update draws attention to other Welsh words that have gained ground in the dictionary. Nobbling, noted by the OED as meaning freezing, and scram, which is described as similar to scratch, are among the new entries. The dictionary quotes a line illustrating the sense of nobbling in common parlance: If a Welsh person advises you to wrap up warm because it’s nobbling, then you are being told that it is very cold outside. The entry for scram likewise reflects how Welsh English uses the term in ways connected to scratching or pulling—an example of semantic borrowing that persists beyond formal grammar or regional labels.
In addition to these terms, the update includes a cluster of everyday Welsh phrases such as diolch (thank you), nos da (good night), croeso (welcome) and shwmae (hello or hi). The note on shwmae highlights that pronunciation and spelling can vary between speakers from north and south Wales, reflecting the country’s rich regional diversity. The dictionary also mentions that while, an 18th- and 19th-century northern English verb meaning to scrape, rake, or pull together with the hands, survives in Welsh English in the sense of to scratch, with a related noun use to scratch as well. This illustrates how words migrate between languages and accumulate new senses over time.
The OED’s September update emphasizes that many of the newly added Welsh terms illustrate broader patterns in language contact and borrowing. Poody, as a boomerang word, is offered as a case study in how linguistic forms can travel across borders, only to reappear with new life in a language different from the one that originally borrowed them. The update also underscores the ongoing evolution of regional variants, particularly as media and online platforms bring local speech into a global spotlight. The inclusion of multiple Welsh terms signals both a growing readiness to catalog regional vocabulary and a broader effort to reflect languages beyond English in the dictionary’s pages.
The release comes amid ongoing conversations about how dictionaries track living languages. Editors say the goal is to document language in use, including slang, colloquialisms, and phrases that may be courtesy or common in particular communities. The OED notes that the additions do not just represent static vocabulary; they capture shifts in meaning, usage, and social context. The platform has historically balanced lexicographic rigor with openness to contemporary speech, and the September update continues that tradition by listing terms that have gained traction through everyday conversation, media appearances, and social networks.
The cultural resonance of the updated entries extends into popular culture and entertainment. Race Across the World, a series known for its globe-trotting adventure and candid dialogue, has been cited in connection with poody. The term’s appearance in a recent season contributed to its recognition outside academic circles, illustrating how television can help illuminate regional terms for a global audience. The OED’s inclusion of poody in its September update serves as a reminder that the show’s dialogue—and the language it brings to screen—can influence the lexicon beyond the confines of Welsh communities. This phenomenon aligns with the dictionary’s broader aim of capturing language in use across communities and time.
Beyond poody, the update’s Welsh entries reflect a wider linguistic tapestry in the United Kingdom and neighboring regions. The examples of nobbling and scram demonstrate how Welsh English speakers may repurpose English words with new nuances, while the diolch–nos da–croeso–shwmae cluster shows how everyday phrases travel from the margins toward mainstream recognition. The notes about shwmae’s variable pronunciation and spelling highlight the diversity within Wales itself, where regional speech patterns contribute to the richness of the language as a whole.
Overall, the September 2024 update to the Oxford English Dictionary adds breadth and nuance to the language landscape, documenting how words travel, transform, and persist across communities. With 500 new words or senses, the update captures both global linguistic currents and the enduring local color of Welsh speech. The inclusion of poody and related terms helps preserve a record of how contemporary speakers describe everyday experiences, from sulking to freezing temperatures, and from greetings to good nights. The editor’s note about these terms underscores the dictionary’s role as a living record of language, reflecting how people talk in homes, on screen, and online—and how those conversations ultimately shape the words that enter the historical record.
Sources familiar with the update note that the release is part of a routine, authoritative refresh of the dictionary, designed to keep pace with language in use around the world. For readers following cultural trends in entertainment and language alike, the September update offers a reminder that the words used in popular programs, digital conversations, and daily life are continually evolving, with Welsh terms playing an increasingly visible role in the global lexicon.