Oxford English Dictionary, one of the most renowned linguistics books around the world, has added the word “simit” into its database.

Many new words from several countries were added into Oxford English Dictionary in its October update. The word that entered into the dictionary from Turkey was ‘simit’. Oxford English Dictionary, which started to be published on February 1, 1884, added the word ‘simit’ to its vocabulary as originating in Turkey. Simit, which is among the top foods of Turkish cuisine, appeared this year in the foods section of the list, which has been updated every three months since 2000 and published online. Simit was defined as “A type of ring-shaped bread roll originating in Turkey, typically coated with molasses and encrusted with sesame seeds before baking,” in the dictionary entry. It was stated that simit was first mentioned in English language in 1836 in the book ‘Missionary Herald’ which includes articles about the American delegates’ duties abroad and it was cited in popular Food & Travel and Guardian publications in 1998 and 2014. Simit has been known as ‘Turkish bagel’ by most of the British. Commenting on the news, Simit Sarayı Chairman Abdullah Kavukcu, said they considered the global recognition of simit as a national duty. “We feel the justified pride of its inclusion in Oxford Dictionary. Since 2012, we have deemed it as a national duty to promote simit to the world and used the word simit instead of Turkish bagel abroad. The fact that it is included directly in Oxford Dictionary shows our efforts have born the fruits,” he added.