FILIPINOS know that feeling all too well— that irresistible urge to pinch, squeeze, or gush over something overwhelmingly cute or exciting.
Now, the world officially recognizes it too! This March, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has decided to add gigil to its ever growing list of words, cementing its place in the global lexicon.
What does “gigil” mean in the Philippines?
Classified under the dictionary’s Philippine English category, gigil is recognized as both a noun and an adjective. The dictionary said that the word is untranslateable.
The dictionary defined Gigil as “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.”
“Gigil is a feeling we get when we see someone or something cute, a feeling so intense that it gives us the irresistible urge to tightly clench our hands, grit our teeth, and pinch or squeeze whomever or whatever it is we find so adorable,” explained the dictionary.
“Gigil is a pithy name for such a strange, paradoxical emotion, and apart from its use as a noun, it can also be employed as an adjective to describe the person experiencing it. So, if a Filipino says they’re gigil, they’re just dealing with overwhelming feelings (usually positive),” they added.
The Oxford English Dictionary also included example sentences featuring the term, spanning from 1990 to 2024.
The dictionary also features other Filipino words such as lumpia, videoke, barkada, and kilig.
