The Oxford English Dictionary’s Latest Caribbean Update Is Filled With Words From Trinidad and Tobago, From “Hornerman” to “Peanut Punch”

From Trinidad folklore and Carnival history to peanut punch and a particularly Caribbean way of making a scene, 11 Caribbean English terms have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

If you’ve spent enough time in the Caribbean, you know the language changes from island to island almost as quickly as the landscape.

There are words you hear at a rum shop, phrases that make perfect sense at a family gathering and expressions whose meanings are immediately obvious to Caribbean speakers — even if they’ve never appeared in one of the world’s most famous dictionaries.

Now, 11 more of them have.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added a new group of Caribbean English words and expressions, with a particularly strong showing from Trinidad and Tobago.

They range from Trinbagonian and peanut punch to the wonderfully evocative vex money and the deeply Caribbean expression to get on.

And together, they offer a fascinating little journey through Caribbean food, folklore, Carnival, family and everyday life.

What Is a Trinbagonian?

Perhaps the most immediately recognizable addition is Trinbagonian, the blended term referring to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

According to the dictionary’s research, the word was first recorded as an adjective in 1976 and as a noun in 1988.

It’s one of several additions with roots specifically in Trinidad and Tobago, reflecting the country’s unusually rich linguistic mix — shaped over centuries by African, European, Indian and Creole influences.

Some of the newly recognized words go back much further.

Canboulay, for example, has been traced to 1871.

The Roots of Trinidad Carnival

Canboulay refers to the 19th-century Trinidadian festivities that celebrated the emancipation of enslaved Africans in 1834.

The celebrations featured drumming, chanting, singing, masquerade processions and stick-fighting and are widely regarded as an important precursor to today’s Trinidad Carnival.

The word comes from the French Creole kann-boulé, itself derived from the French cannes brûlées, or “burned cane.”

Attempts by the British colonial government to suppress Canboulay led to disturbances in 1881 and 1884. That history remains part of contemporary Carnival culture, with Canboulay commemorations and reenactments taking place around the beginning of the festival.

It’s an example of something bigger in this dictionary update: these aren’t simply colorful expressions. Many contain pieces of Caribbean history.

Douens and Jablesse

Then there are the supernatural additions.

A douen, a word documented as far back as 1897, is a figure from Trinidadian folklore: the spirit of a child who died before baptism, traditionally depicted as small, wearing a large hat and — most famously — having feet that point backward.

The creature is said to call children by name and lure them into the forest.

Its linguistic origins may lie in the Spanish duende, the Efik word dwen, or a combination of the two.

The jablesse is rather more sinister.

She is a shape-shifting female spirit, traditionally depicted with one cloven hoof, who assumes the appearance of a beautiful woman at night and lures men to their deaths.

The term derives from Antillean Creole and ultimately the French diablesse, meaning a female demon.

Peanut Punch and Sugar Cake

Not everything on the list is supernatural.

Two of the tastiest additions are familiar across much of the region.

Peanut punch, documented from 1960, is the rich drink made with peanuts or peanut butter, milk and sugar, often with spices and other sweeteners. While especially associated with Trinidad and Tobago, versions are consumed around the Caribbean.

Then there’s sugar cake, with a history stretching back to at least 1844.

Also called coconut sugar cake, it’s the traditional confection of grated coconut cooked with sugar, water and spices — one of those simple Caribbean sweets that can vary considerably depending on the island, family or person making it.

Getting On — and Keeping Vex Money

Two of the best additions may be the ones that capture everyday Caribbean speech.

To get on, in Caribbean usage, means to have an emotional or angry outburst — essentially, to make a scene. The dictionary traces that meaning to 1905.

And then there’s vex money.

The expression, documented from 1974 and also found in Nigerian English, refers to money a woman keeps somewhere safe for an emergency or unexpected situation.

It may be one of the most economical phrases in the update: two words that manage to convey an entire scenario.

Another distinctly Trinidadian addition is hornerman, recorded from 1975. It can refer to a man who is unfaithful to his partner or the man with whom an unfaithful woman is having an affair.

Nana and Nani

The update also reflects the enormous influence of South Asian culture on the Caribbean, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

Nana and nani are Hindi loanwords referring to one’s maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother, respectively.

The Caribbean usage of nani has also expanded beyond its literal family meaning. It can be used as a respectful form of address for an older woman, particularly one of South Asian heritage.

That evolution is part of what makes Caribbean English so distinctive: words arrive through migration, colonialism, food, family, music and folklore, and then develop lives of their own.

The 11 New Caribbean English Entries

The full group includes Canboulay, douen, hornerman, jablesse, nana, nani, peanut punch, sugar cake, to get on, Trinbagonian and vex money.

It’s a relatively small dictionary update.

But it captures something much larger: the extraordinary depth of Caribbean English — a language shaped by centuries of movement and cultural exchange, where a single vocabulary can contain Carnival rebellion, Indian family traditions, African and European folklore, coconut sweets and the emergency cash you keep tucked away just in case.