To twerk or not to twerk, that is the question that has plagued society since Miley Cyrus took to the stage and thrusted her behind about with abandon in 2013.
But it’s actually been around for longer – a lot, lot longer.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which records how the English language develops in meaning, has traced its origins as far back as the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.
And the news has literally hit us like a wrecking ball. (sorry)
“Twerk” was first used as a noun in 1820, spelled “twirk”, to refer to a “twisting or jerking movement” or “twitch”. The verb is believed to have emerged later in 1848, and the “twerk” spelling was popularly used by 1901.
Whilst the exact origin of the word is uncertain, it may be a blend of the words twist or twitch, and jerk.
Fiona McPherson, senior editor of OED, said: “We are confident that it is the same origins as the dance. There has been constant use up into the present day to mean that same thing.
“I think it’s quite spectacular, the early origins for it. We were quite surprised.”
Twerking hit the headlines after Miley Cyrus’s controversial MTV Video Music Awards performance in 2013, and first entered the online Oxford dictionary – which recognises popular usage of words – later that year.
Sadly the word does not describe an ingenious cross between working and being on Twitter:
Twerking: Tweeting while working #wrongdefinition
— Jade (@JadeskiFL) June 22, 2015
Instead, the entry defines it as dancing “in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance”, and says it has links to the early 1990s New Orleans “bounce” music scene.
The word is one of 500 new entries, including “twitterati” (describing users of the social media service), and “fo’ shizzle” (meaning “for sure”), and “meh”, an interjection expressing a lack of enthusiasm.
