Hip hop fans have known about twerking for years, but it only recently entered the mainstream primarily thanks to Miley Cyrus. The former Disney star twerked all up on Robin Thicke during the 2013 VMAs, and now people can’t stop talking about the ratchet dance move.
The British “Oxford Dictionaries Online” has added the term to its database after it became so prevalent in the media over the last year.
twerk (v.): to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance
“There are many theories about the origin of this word, and since it arose in oral use, we may never know the answer for sure,” said Oxford Dictionary’s Katherine Connor Martin. “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 word such as twist or twitch.”
Source: allhiphop.com
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