Oxford English Dictionary adds new Welsh English words

Coming now in a minute: Oxford English Dictionary adds new words from Welsh English in latest update.

The oldest word in this update is a Welsh English word borrowed from the Welsh language. Dating as far back as 1724, Bwbach is the name of a creature in Welsh folklore: a benevolent, though sometimes mischievous, spirit resembling a goblin, which inhabits homes and farm buildings and helps with household tasks and other work.

A couple of phrases in this batch also show the influence of Welsh on Welsh English, even though they consist entirely of English elements. To be in one’s oils (1900), a colloquial expression used in Wales and in northern and south-western England, means ‘to be at ease, comfortable, in one's element’.

It is apparently modelled after the Welsh phrase yn ei hwyliau, frequent variant of yn ei hwyl, ‘in good form, in a good mood’, with alteration within English by association with oils.

The seemingly contradictory phrase now in a minute, used in Irish as well as Welsh English to mean ‘in a moment, very soon, before long’, follows the construction of similar Welsh phrases nawr mewn munud (nawr ‘now’, mewn ‘in’, munud ‘minute’) and mewn munud yn awr (yn awr ‘now’).

Bachgen, first attested in 1888, is a Welsh English word for ‘boy’ which is also used as a term of endearment. Boys bach, also from the late 19th century, is a familiar form of address to a group of men or a mixed group of people, which from the early 20th century has also been used as an exclamation of surprise or dismay, equivalent to ‘my goodness!’ or ‘good grief!’. Another Welsh loan word, twpsyn, dating to 1941, refers to an idiot or a fool.

The full list of Welsh English words added in this update is as follows:

New words:

Revised entries: