Thanks to Miley Cyrus’ err… “inspiring” MTV Video Music Award performance, “twerking” will officially claim a page in the British Oxford Dictionaries Online. While twerking has been apart of hip hop vernacular for years, Miley’s viral visuals pushed it to the forefront of mainstream culture.

The term is now defined as: “to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.” Oxford Dictionary’s Katherine Connor Martin reasons that there may be many other possible definitions but the world may never know.

“We think the most likely theory is that it is an alteration of work, because that word has a history of being used in similar ways, with dancers being encouraged to ‘work it.’ The ‘t’ could be a result of blending with another worder such as twist or twitch,” Martin told the Associated Press.

“Twerk” will be joined by other popular mainstream terms including “selfie,” “digital detox” and “badassery.” The Oxford Dictionaries Online is not to be confused with the more traditional Oxford English Dictionary. – Alley Olivier

Photo Credit: Getty

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