From Ate to Promdi: Filipino Words That Are Now Oxford-Approved

Ever had a non-Filipino flinch at the thought of being invited to a boodle fight? You probably laughed and said, “Only in the Philippines, huh?” Well, here’s a little bragging right: the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially added the word to its pages, recognizing a well-loved Filipino tradition. 

We know a boodle fight isn’t really a fight—it’s the chaos, camaraderie, and hands-on feasting we experience. According to the OED, the term “does have its roots in U.S. military slang, where boodle (1903) refers to prohibited confectionery, snacks, or other refreshments, and a boodle fight (1910) is an informal gathering at which these illicit treats are eaten.” 

It added, “Boodle fight made its way to Philippine military academies, which were modelled after their American counterparts, and to the Philippine armed forces, where it became a tradition for cadets and soldiers to share a meal regardless of rank, in order to build camaraderie. The expression later became of widespread use among the general public, as a common name for this distinctively Filipino way of throwing a party.” 

Other Filipino words we grew up with made it to the OED roster: inasal, palengke, bunso, and promdi.

Inasal (1950), one of the many dishes that can be served at a boodle fight, is chicken marinated in lemongrass, calamansi, vinegar, and other seasonings, and grilled over coals. The dish is closely associated with two cities in the Visayas region of the Philippines, Bacolod and Iloilo, each of which has its own version of the dish. ICYDK, the -asal in inasal comes from the Spanish verb asar, “to grill or roast.”  

Another Philippine English word of Spanish origin is palengke (1933), which as we all know means a market, especially one for the sale of fresh meat, fish, and produce. It is a specific sense development of palenque, a Spanish word for an enclosure. 

Ate and kuya, Filipino kinship terms referring to an elder sister and an elder brother, respectively, were added in previous OED updates. Recently, it has also included the word for the youngest child of the family, bunso (1940), which, like ate and kuya, is also used as a term of endearment or affectionate form of address. 

Another word is promdi, which is both a noun (1981) and an adjective (1988) applied to a person from a rural area. The spelling represents the Philippine English pronunciation of ‘from the’ in the phrase ‘from the province’. Although often used with derogatory connotations of lack of refinement or sophistication, promdi has increasingly been used as a neutral or positive term, and as a self-designation by people who are proud to be from the provinces of the Philippines. 

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