Among the Malaysian community, there are certain words that are exclusively used by locals to express certain emotions or describe a cultural phenomenon.
Recently, a few of such words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), with notable examples such as ‘alamak’ and ‘mat rempit’.
‘Alamak’ & ‘mat rempit’ appear in Oxford English Dictionary
These words can be found through a simple search on the Oxford English Dictionary’s official website, where one just needs to type in the search bar.
WeirdKaya did a brief search to check up on what was the definition for the words ‘alamak’ and ‘mat rempit’ and here’s what we found:
According to OED, ‘alamak’ is an interjection used to “express surprise, shock, dismay, or outrage” and is believed to be a combination of the Malay words for God (Allah) and mother (mak).
Another suggested origin is based on the Portuguese phrase ‘Mãe de Deus’, which literally means ‘Mother of God’.
As for ‘mat rempit’, the OED defines it as a term used to describe “a (typically young) man who participates in illegal motorcycle street racing and often performs dangerous stunts.”
Under the etymology page, the OED wrote that ‘mat rempit’ is a combination of the local slang ‘mat’, an affectionate nickname for men named Muhammad and Ahmad, and ‘rempit’, which is believed to refer to the act of striking someone with a whip or cane.
Interestingly, several other local slangs and food can also be found on the OED, including ‘tapau’, ‘ketupat’ and ‘terror’ (sometimes spelt colloquially as ‘terrer’).
Are you surprised to see these words appear in the Oxford English Dictionary? Share with us in the comments!
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